James Corden explains his "kiss" with Daniel Radcliffe

Daniel Radcliffe, James Corden

In February I wrote about what appeared to be an ambush-snogging of poor Daniel Radcliffe at the What's On Stage Awards in London by actor James Corden (The History Boys). Daniel was just stepping up the podium when James grabbed Daniel and gave him one heck of a kiss. At the time I wrote about how if I were Radcliffe, I would've kneed Corden in the crotch.

Well, I ran into Corden at the Television Critics Association in Los Angeles where he is promoting his new show on BBC America, Gavin & Stacey. I got a chance to ask him about the infamous kiss and why he did it. Says Corden, "If you spent enough time with Dan, you can’t help but kiss him on the mouth. It’s a fact. There’s something magical about him, which is I imagine why he got the part [of Harry Potter], where he just draws you in. There were no tongues involved in that kiss. But, we both enjoyed it very much."

Did Daniel know Corden planned on kissing him? "No," says Corden. "I’ve known Dan a while and I came up to him in the wings [of the show] and he said, 'You’re not going to make fun of me or anything, are you?' I said, 'No. I might kiss you on the mouth.' And then he had to go on, so I had given him some pre-warning, yes."

As to how good a kisser Radcliffe turned out be, Corden has nothing but praise. "A wonderful, wonderful kisser, with a beautiful penis."

It turns out the straight Corden is quite in touch with his gay side as an actor. He played Daffyd "The only gay in the village" Thomas' gay brothe on Little Britain. He guested on Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive where he had a scripted snog with out actor Russell Tovey (both actors also appeared in the gay-friendly film The History Boys).

James Corden

(Picture courtesy of Getty Images/Frederick M. Brown)

As for Corden's new BBC America comedy Gavin & Stacey, the outrageous comedian says gay viewers will find at least a little queer content in the show. "We've got me – James Corden! [With me] we've got something for bears and for chubby chasers! It’s me and Matt. We are essentially the gayest straight men in the world. We’re essentially lesbians, I guess because if you had seen us when we got into LA yesterday, we went straight shopping like. I think there’s plenty there. The show has got a pretty big gay following n the U.K. And Stacey’s brother who arrives in episode five, he’s a gay character and – but never in any way that we – he’s just mentioned. I think the show is respectful and I think there’s quite a lot there."

But another character might be gay as well. "And Rob Brydon’s character Uncle Bryn, there’s perhaps a latent . . . I don’t want to say he is gay because we’ve never said that, but I think people who watch it might . . . can make up their own mind about it."