Katie Couric panics host James Corden in April Fools prank on Late, Late Night Show

Only a week into his new job, Corden is now presenting a late night talk show

Corden rushes to Couric (The Late Late Night Show with James Corden, via YouTube)

We’ve all been there: only a few days into a new role and terrified that something will go wrong. Of course, most of us don’t have a TV crew trained on our every move as part of our job.

Broadcaster Katie Couric’s April Day Fools trick on James Corden’s new US show had exactly the reaction producers of the show can only have hoped.

After her announcement, the journalist appears at the top of the stairs behind the audience, only to slip – attempting to buckle her shoe – and spectacularly roll down the stairs.

The audience also appear to have been taken in, with two people stepping out to attempt to prevent the 58-year-old broadcaster tumbling further down the stairs.

Meanwhile, Corden, rushing out of his presenter’s chair, dashes over to where he thinks Couric is, frantically asking: “Are you okay?” He then requests, “Is someone around?”

The joke is broken by Couric’s appearance at the top of the stairs, shouting: “Up here James! April Fools!”

By this point Corden – who apparently knew nothing about the planned prank – is also on the floor.

Back on the stage, the 36-year-old presenter admits: “I can't breathe. That's like our worst nightmare. That is so funny. That is an amazing prank.

(Getty Images)

"We've been talking about those stairs. We've been going back and forth. I was like, 'Oh my God. Katie Couric just died.’"

The journalist, currently working as Yahoo’s Global News Anchor, also thanks her stunt double Heidi for her epic roll down the TV studios stairs.

A clip of the event has already been viewed more than half a million times on YouTube.

The British actor has recently taken over from Scottish comedian Craig Ferguson on CBS’s The Late, Late Show. Despite scepticism over whether US audiences would ‘get’ the comic, early reviews for Corden’s show have been broadly positive.