Hollyoaks star Ricky Whittle has slammed Gavin and Stacey star James Corden after he claimed this week that the soap 'breeds chicken-in-a-basket' fame-seekers. James, who appeared in the Channel 4 soap eight years ago, told Esquire magazine that he'd 'rather die than go back', adding: "It just breeds p***** - all these people walking around with this chicken-in-a-basket fame, talking about going to LA, you know?" But Ricky, who plays cop Calvin Valentine in the soap, hit back at his 'childish' comments and light-heartedly warned James: "Good luck to him, I hope he doesn't bump into us on a night out!" But Ricky told whatsontv.co.uk: "It's very childish that he's slating the place where he came from, the place that made him, especially when no one he's talking about is here any more." He went on: "Eight years ago we weren't getting awards for best actor, best actress, best storyline and best exit. This is the place to be right now, and I'm very proud to be on this show." Ricky added, mockingly: "I don't know who he is and I've never seen the show he's in. Is he Gavin? He's not even Gavin! OK then." Ricky is currently involved in a major Hollyoaks storyline in which his character Calvin gets mixed up with a dodgy drug dealer while trying to help his sister, Sasha, played by Nathalie Emmanuel, who's addicted to heroin.
