The Sky One quiz show is back with a new series but James Corden is missing – here’s why.
Returning tonight with a brand new series is A League of Their Own – Sky One’s sports quiz show featuring cricket star Freddie Flintoff and former footballer Jamie Redknapp.
The long-running show has been hosted by Gavin & Stacey’s James Corden since its very first episode in 2010 and sees the red and blue teams compete in a series of sports-related rounds – however, the upcoming sixteenth series will be making a major change to the celebrity panel.
Many fans will notice that James Corden, who has found success in the US with his talk show The Late Late Show as well as numerous film projects, is missing from the brand new series and if you’re wondering why, then RadioTimes.com has you covered.
Read on to find out why Corden won’t be appearing in A League of Their Own’s new episodes.
Where is James Corden on A League of Their Own?
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James Corden has been missing from A League of Their Own since 2019 due to his commitments in the US to his talk show The Late Late Show – however, he has still remained as the official A League of Their Own host for the past two series, with guest presenters filling in for him.
The likes of Jack Whitehall, David Walliams, Amanda Holden, Clare Balding, Freddie Flintoff and Romesh Ranganathan hosted the show for its fourteenth series, while due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ranganathan mainly filled in for Corden while he was stuck out in America.
However, Sky announced in June that Corden would be officially replaced by Romesh Ranganathan for the upcoming sixteenth series.
It is not clear whether Corden will return to the show for a future series or make a guest appearance – however, Jamie Redknapp told RadioTimes.com in April that he’s “sure” the presenter would be back on A League of Their Own this year.
“He’s a massive part of the show! And that is the beauty of it. People don’t leave. They go away and do some different projects or a film or whatever, but it shows you the quality of people we have with James doing a film with Meryl Streep and Jack has gone off and done a film with The Rock [Dwayne Johnson] and he’s come back.
“So, I’m sure James will come back, just at the right time! I think he’s loved being part of it because it’s his baby! He was there right from the start.”
Who is the new host of A League of Their Own?
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Comedian and regular League of Their Own panellist Romesh Ranganathan was announced as the Sky show’s new host back in June after serving as a guest host for most of the fifteenth series.
“I’m over the moon to be taking over the hosting duties and looking forward to being back in the studio with Jamie, Freddie, our guests and the live audience,” he said in a statement.
“I’m truly honoured to be the new host of such a successful show. I know Jamie [Redknapp] and Freddie [Flintoff] are delighted because they often talk about what a hero I am to both of them.”
Best known for hosting The Ranganation, the stand-up comedian has also starred in BBC Two travel show The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan and Dave’s Judge Romesh, while he’s appeared on Taskmaster, Have I Got News for You, Staged and Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway.
Ranganathan is set to become the new host of The Weakest Link, which is being rebooted by BBC One and set to air later this year.