James Corden refused to film a scene for ‘Hollyoaks’ because he felt it was mocking overweight people.
The 41-year-old actor portrayed college janitor Wayne in the Channel 4 soap and he was appalled when for a scene set in the character’s bedroom the set designer decorated the walls with posters of junk food and told the director and crew he wouldn’t work until the images had been removed.
In an interview with New Yorker magazine, he said: "I thought that they were just really being nasty about anyone that’s overweight. I remember saying to the guy, ‘I don’t know one person who would take a picture of a hot dog and a burger and stick them on the wall.’"
Corden was offered a lucrative contract of £70,000-a-year to stay on ‘Hollyoaks’, and it was a contract that he seriously considered accepting.
However, after discussing it with his dad Malcolm Corden he decided to say no because he didn’t want to get pigeonholed as a soap star.
He said: "I swear to God, if I had done that show I’d have been there for five years, and I’d probably be on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ right now."
Corden went on to write hit sitcom ‘Gavin & Stacey’ with Ruth Jones, which landed on screens in 2007, but his plus-sized figure was on his and Ruth’s mind when they were creating the two titular characters – played by Mathew Horne and Joanna Page respectively – whose love story would drive the show.
Ruth – who played outspoken arcade attendant Nessa who develops an unlikely relationship with James’ cheeky chappy alter ego Smithy – said: "We were being realistic that neither of us is romantic-lead material."
James Corden made a stand for overweight people on Hollyoaks
