James Corden has recounted the time he tried to prank Adele on The Late Late Show, only for the trick to go terribly wrong.
During his final week as the host of the US talk show, the comedian was joined on Monday (24 April) by the “Hello” singer for his final ever episode of musical sing-a-long segment Carpool Karaoke.
During the episode, the pair reminisced about their lengthy friendship and memories together on and off the show.
Remembering Adele’s last time on Carpool Karaoke in 2015, Corden said: “And then we almost got you on the show…” with Adele interrupting: “Almost. Oh, you want to talk about that?”
Corden explained that ever since he’d known the singer, she had insisted that “no-one could ever prank me, I’m unprankable”, although she would “love someone to try” and trick her.
In an attempt to hoodwink Adele, Corden and his team set up a large-scale prank where they pretended a wild bear (played by an animatronic animal flown from Canada) was on the loose from the Los Angeles Zoo.
Real news channels got involved, with Gayle King even recording a fake bulletin about the fictional bear on the loose. The original plan was that Adele was recording an “interview”, when park rangers would burst in and tell her the bear was near.
“When you say it out loud now, it’s so ridiculous,” Corden said, with footage of the unaired prank attempt showing on screen.
However, things started to go off the rails when Adele arrived at the house where the made-up interview was due to take place early.
“Your assistant spots this tiny camera that’s hidden on a shelf,” Corden recalled. “We’re all going, ‘Oh my God, no,’ and he runs out, of course, and tells you and you were like, ‘I’m being spied on.’”
“I said, ‘Who f***ing owns this house?’” Adele continued, with the pair laughing. “We go downstairs, I was like, ‘I’m not happy about this’… And then there’s another room that I need to wait in and I go in and there’s every piece of merch that has ever been created of me.”
The footage shows the singer entering the room, which was covered “wall to wall [with] Adele”, before telling her assistant: “I’m not happy being here, I’m really uncomfortable.”
Corden said that Adele became convinced she had a “stalker” or was being “streamed” online, at which point he and his team accepted that “the game’s up” and came out to tell her.
Upon seeing Corden, who was dressed like a park ranger, Adele shouted: “No!” and swore loudly at the actor and writer.
Corden’s last episode of The Late Late Show will air on Thursday (27 April). You can find out more information about his final shows here.
