One Direction is James Corden’s "secret weapon".
The ‘Steal My Girl’ hitmakers – Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik – will reportedly be recruited to help the 36-year-old comedian and television presenter launch his career in America as he takes over the reigns of ‘The Late Late Show’ in March 2015.
A source told the Daily Star on Sunday newspaper: "One Direction will be James’ secret weapon in the battle to increase his profile and have younger people watching."
The boy band will reportedly appear on the show for free rather than demanding their usual $2 million fee.
The band’s close pal and music video producer, Ben Winston, who is also a friend of James and a producer on the CBS show, has overseen the plan.
James has made no secret about his nerves ahead of his US talk show debut, already fearing it will be a "disaster".
He joked: "Why wouldn’t it be [a disaster]? I’m from High Wycombe.
"What are the chances of a chubby guy – and I’m being generous – going to America and hosting a talk show every night being anything other than a complete mistake?"
James – who will move to Los Angeles with his wife, Julia and two children: Max, three and one-month-old Carey – has admitted that he even considered that producers chose him so they could cancel the show.
He said previously: "It did cross my mind that they’re trying to kill the format.
"They might have thought, ‘We don’t need another chat show at 12.30am. How can we just kill it off so we don’t have to do this any more? I know – let’s get that guy.’"
One Direction is ‘secret weapon’
