James Corden in One Man, Two Guvnors in Birmingham

It's a far cry from clingy best mate Smithy in Gavin and Stacey but James Corden is ready for a change,

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He's better known as the cocky Smithy in TV's Gavin and Stacey. But James Corden will swop his alter ego for the lead role in Richard Bean's One Man, Two Guvnors, at Birmingham's New Alexandra Theatre, from Tuesday, October 18, 2011 to Saturday, October 22.

The production is based on The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni, with songs by Grant Olding, and is an English version of the classic Italian comedy – where sex, food and money are high on the agenda.

Corden stars as Francis Henshall, who is hired from his skiffle band and becomes minder to Roscoe Crabbe, a small time East End hood, now in Brighton to collect £6,000 from his fiancée's dad.

But Roscoe is really his sister Rachel posing as her own dead brother, who's been killed by her boyfriend Stanley Stubbers.

Holed up at The Cricketers' Arms, the permanently ravenous Francis spots the chance of an extra meal ticket and takes a second job with one Stanley Stubbers, who is hiding from the police and waiting to be re-united with Rachel. To prevent discovery, Francis must keep his two guvnors apart. Simple.

Corden's role follows the publication of his autobiography, May I Have Your Attention, Please? by Century, priced £18.99.

He tells about his fall from hero to zero – after seeing his career implode on a wave of booze, broken hearts and mediocrity.

"The person I look back on, two-and-a-half years ago, I don't really recognise as me," he says.

"I wasn't in AA or anything. I just got a bit lost. I was heartbroken and a little bit famous . . . and that's a bad mix."

For its 2010 finale, the Gavin And Stacey show he co-wrote pulled in 10 million viewers.

Backstage though, as television's chubby golden boy explains in his new book, he wasn't happy. His sketch show Horne & Corden, debut film Lesbian Vampire Killers -– and even James Corden's World Cup Live, an apparently harmless ITV presenting gig – were labelled as drivel by critics.

And Corden is nothing if not honest about why he failed to deliver the goods.

"Trying to write a TV show, or be in things and be good, and going out all the time, are mutually exclusive.

"You just can't do them both. You feel like you can, because you're still handing in the work – it's just not very good. Not to say it's awful, but it's not good enough."

Corden rented a fancy north London flat with Mamma Mia's Dominic Cooper, and his socialising took on an epic quality.

"At one point, for about two weeks, all Dom and I had in the fridge was some vodka, a bottle of pink vitamin water and a Lindt chocolate bunny," he writes.

Nowadays though, he's found happiness as a father.

For details on One Man, Two Guvnors visit The New Alexandra Theatre's website, www.alexandratheatre.org.uk

* James will be attending a booksigning for May I Have You Attention, Please? at Dudley's Merry Hill shopping centre on Tuesday, October 18, at 12.30pm.