Their bubble might not be bursting but it certainly has a few leaks at the moment. Mathew Horne and James Corden have already had savage reviews for their television sketch show and mixed notices for their film Lesbian Vampire Killers.

Now it was the turn for them to deliver onstage. The final night of this year’s Teenage Cancer Trust week found them saving face by trading heavily on high energy rather than high quality.

As hosts of the evening, the stars of hit sitcom Gavin & Stacey came on between each guest to rapturous applause and whizzed through variations of skits and set-ups already seen on the BBC3 vehicle.

Gallery: More pictures from the event

James Corden bounced around like a tubby Tigger, Mathew Horne mainly played the straight man, Ernie to Corden’s Eric. They both kept their clothes on, in contrast to their TV show’s opening episode.

At their best they raised the roof. Corden’s rapidfire rapping (“I’ve always had time for my rhyme”) showed he can rattle off neat lines at will when he has them. His public school oaf Xander also slipped down well as he clambered through the audience.

Horne’s camp reporter Tim Goodall, however, was little more than a chance to mock the dress sense of two audience members and allow fashionista Gok Wan to chip in with a self-satirising cameo.
Too often the enthusiastic performances were compensating for a lack of originality or serviceable script.

Their happy clappy Christians innocently singing innuendo-laden lyrics was a well-worn idea, while their West Country magicians Jonny and Lee Miller did little more than prance and roll around the floor to a remix of Enya’s Orinoco Flow. Previous Teenage Cancer Trust comedy nights have featured Little Britain, Russell Brand and Ricky Gervais. By contrast this year’s line-up felt low-key.

Character comedian Nick Mohammed made little impact, Sean Lock cannily described recycling jars as “like turning up at an earthquake with a dustpan and brush”. Rising star Jack Whitehall fared well with punchy gags about the election of America’s “first quite black President”. Finally Noel Fielding from The Mighty Boosh appeared with a waffling set that fell awkwardly between work-in-progress and tired old routines. Fielding looked a little wobbly in his high-heeled gold boots, but not as wobbly as Horne and Corden will look if they do not come up with some content to justify their pop star confidence.