James Corden delayed a performance of his West End play so he could stream the England v Switzerland match

Becky Harris, who was in the audience, told Metro.co.uk: "What were the chances! James was at the side of the stage just before [the show] was due to start with his iPad watching the game.

'Then he came out as the crowd started calling him and he brought the iPad out on stage and he and his co-star streamed the penalties."

But Ms Harris noted that in the end, the former 'Late Late Show' host was cursed with a bad signal on his tablet so relied on an audience member who could play the match on his phone and invited the man up to the stage with him.

She said: "It started buffering so a man on the front row started filling James in on what was happening. James told him to come over with his phone and they all started watching it on stage together!"

The role is James' first since he relocated back to the UK following almost a decade-long stint in the US and the play deconstructs politics, panic alarms and the conflict between public service and personal safety.

Playwright Joe Penhall said: 'I began writing this play four years ago, as I became fascinated and appalled by the growing antipathy towards elected politicians.

"But during lockdown it looked like theatre was done for, so when I showed a rough first draft to Matthew and he had such a confident vision for it, I was simultaneously thrilled and doubtful of our chances.

"It's beyond exciting to be finally doing it and I feel utterly indebted to The Old Vic and everyone involved for getting us here."