[Arneldo]

James Corden has accused his former Hollyoaks colleagues of having an inflated opinion of their talent.

The actor said he would rather "die" than return to the Channel 4 soap, in which he had a brief role as a college caretaker in 2001.

He told Esquire: "It's *******ing awful. I can't tell you the sheer disdain I have for the place and people. I met a couple of really good friends there, but it's [only] 20% nice people.

"It just breeds p**cks - all these people walking around with this chicken-in-a-basket fame, talking about going to LA."

Corden won a BAFTA earlier this year for his role as Smithy in BBC Three sitcom Gavin & Stacey, which he also co-wrote.

DS