Graham Norton was asked on This Morning if the show ever went ‘horribly wrong’
Veteran celebrity interviewer Graham Norton has explained why a Hollywood legend’s comments once had to be cut from the show.
The 61-year-old switched roles on Thursday (26 September) after he appeared on the This Morning sofa as a guest, alongside hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard.
While on the programme, he was asked if his show ever went ‘horribly wrong’.
That’s when Norton recalled the one and only time producers cut an interview with a big celebrity.
When asked the question, Norton explained that because of the nature of The Graham Norton Show, they often left mistakes in the final cut.
“The good thing about our show is that if anything goes wrong – it’s in,” he said.
However, Norton recalled the time when an actor got so emotional while telling a story that he began crying on the couch.
“I remember Jon Voight once was telling a story about being young and he made himself cry – we cut that out,” he said.
“Not on our show!” Norton joked, adding: “No tears on our sofa!”
Voight – who is also the father of Angelina Jolie – appeared on the BBC show alongside Katie Holmes and Josh Hartnett, back in 2004.
Best case scenario, Norton said he loves when ‘there’s an alchemy and I’m just watching the couch all talk to each other’.
Meanwhile, the National Treasure actor, 85, stars in Francis Ford Coppola’s new film Megalopolis.
It goes without saying that whenever Coppola, 85, makes a film, the world of cinema takes note.
Though The Godfather and Apocalypse Now director was so convinced by his latest project that he self-
The sci-fi drama, set in a futuristic version of New York City, follows visionary architect Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver), who clashes with the corrupt Mayor Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), leading to a battle over the future of the metropolis.
Laurence Fishburne, Aubrey Plaza and Voight round out the ensemble cast.
Having just come out in cinemas, it seems the film is not off to the best start with a 40 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
One viewer commented: “I can honestly say this was the worst movie I have ever seen in a theater. I was baffled the whole time at everything.”
Another added: “That was so so bad.
“Pretty wild that Aubrey Plaza is in one of the best movies of 2024 and one of the worst.”
Graham Norton shares one of ‘worst guests’ he has had on his show who ‘fell asleep’ halfway through
Graham Norton has opened up about the worst guests he’s ever had on his BBC chat show – revealing that one person actually fell asleep after drinking too much.
The 60-year-old star has had a host of famous faces on his couch over the years and naturally viewers are always keen to know who he reckons is the ‘worst guest’ he’s ever had.
He’s discussed several candidates before. Poor old Robert De Niro was originally named his worst guest ever following some snooze-worthy stories on the couch, while Harvey Weinstein later usurped him for obvious reasons.
Norton explained: “He asked for my e-mail. And he emailed me something very nice, a complimentary thing. And then he decided he wanted to be on the show, because he was going to promote something.
“And it was a show that was fully booked, so I replied saying ‘Oh, thank you so much, but the show is fully booked’. He emailed back: ‘What if I blah de blah de blah’. [I replied] ‘No, the show is fully booked, blah de blah.’
“And he emailed back again, ‘But I think…’, and I just had to turn to my booker and say ‘Can you please deal with this?'”
But, during an appearance on Kiss radio, Norton remembered another guest who threw the show into absolute chaos.
The guest was, of course, Mark Wahlberg, who back in 2013 rocked up to the popular chat show absolutely steaming drunk.
Norton said on Kiss: “I had Mark Wahlberg fall asleep. He was very, very drunk. It was me, Michael Fassbender and Sarah Silverman.
“But it was hard to get anything done.”
This was because Wahlberg was constantly interrupting the other celebs in the middle of anecdotes, leaving Fassbender and Silverman exasperated.
Norton continued: “At one point, Michael Fassbender is telling a story and it’s going really well. Like, he’s getting through the story and I’m thinking, ‘wow this is going well’.
“And then I look over and Mark Wahlberg is just asleep. That’s why it’s going well!”
Take a look at the wild footage below:
Norton has previously spoke about the chaotic episode. Speaking on This Morning a few years back, he was asked about problematic guests with Phillip Schofield saying: “Some people are drunk when they arrive,” before adding: “Mark Wahlberg.”
Norton replied: “He’s been on a few times since, but the famous time – he came on [and] he was fine.”
At this point Willoughby pressed: “What happened then, what did you do to him?” to which Norton replied: “Well I don’t know what happened.
“I think it’s that sort of thing when you finish drinking, that isn’t the drunkest you’re going to be.
“Sometimes when you get home, ‘Ooh, I’m drunker than when I left the pub.’ So I think maybe there was a bit of a time lapse and yeah, he did get very drunk.”
Norton went on to say that Wahlberg was constantly interrupting the other guests’ anecdotes – including Fassbender and Silverman.
Until he suddenly went quiet.
“We couldn’t get any stories going, and then Michael Fassbender was on and he was getting this story away,” said Graham.
“And I was like, ‘Wow, this must be a good story,’ because Mark Wahlberg’s letting him tell it.
“And then I looked at Mark Wahlberg and he was asleep… we didn’t wake him, we were delighted.”
Graham Norton forced to explain himself after show segment leaves Da’Vine Joy Randolph speechless
Actor Da’Vine Joy Randolph was left speechless on The Graham Norton Show as the TV host was forced to explain himself over a segment.
This week, alongside the Only Murders In The Building star, was Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Kingsley Ben-Adir and music band The Last Dinner Party.
Opening up on the hit Hulu series – created by Steve Martin and John Hoffman – Randolph spoke about working with Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep in the latest season.
For those unaware, Only Murders In The Building follows three strangers from one apartment complex (Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez) who share an obsession with true crime and suddenly find themselves wrapped up in one.
And season three, which is available to watch on Disney+, sees Randolph revive her role as Detective Donna Williams as she works alongside Streep, who plays an eccentric stage actor.
“When I found out she was going to be in it I begged and was like, ‘Please god I want just one scene with her’, Randolph explained on Norton.
“And it happened. I get to arrest her! She is so amazing.”
However, the moment of the night came when Norton was forced to explain himself over the ‘Red Chair’ segment, which sees audience members air their most cringe secrets to the whole panel of celebs.
If the host isn’t liking the story, he pulls the lever and the chair falls backwards, along with the story-teller.
On this week’s show, one Red Chair participant attempted to tell her story: “So I was gardening naked, I’d fallen over,” and that’s as far as she got before Norton pulled the lever.
The whole couch, along with the audience, all laughed – apart from Randolph.
She was clearly ‘traumatised’ by the segment, saying: “What did you just do to her? What happened?”
Norton quipped: “She’s gone, she’s gone now.”
“So what’s that mean, you’re like, you’re over it, you’re not that into it, it’s a bad story?” the actor replied.
“Well it’s just I feel I’ve heard the I’ve you know, I was putting in a lightbulb and sat on it, that kind of thing,” the host explained.
“We’ve all heard those stories,” Norton continued, after turning his chair to the audience: “Haven’t we?”
Commenting on the clip, one viewer tweeted: “Screaming at Da’Vine Joy Randolph not knowing what the hell the red chair is #GrahamNorton.”
“The look on her face was so funny!” another added.
“Love when people don’t know about the red chair,” a third agreed.
The full episode is available to watch on iPlayer now.
Featured Image Credit: BBC
Graham Norton viewers reduced to tears after powerful Judi Dench speech
Judi Dench held Graham Norton, his guests, and the audience spellbound with her rendition of a Shakespeare sonnet on last night’s show
Judi Dench gave a powerful speech last night on The Graham Norton Show which left some viewers in tears and others simply in complete awe of the acting legend.
It’s not exactly a revolutionary take that Judi Dench is very good at acting, but few would have realised that she is able to pull entire sonnets out of her head on a whim and recite them beautifully on national TV.
Of course, she may have simply known what was happening beforehand and boned up on the correct Shakespeare, but where would the fun in that be?
Dench was on Graham Norton’s show to publicise her book, which is all about her acting and career working with the plays and poems of the Bard, so if anyone was going to pull a random sonnet out of their noggin, it’s her.
When prompted by the host – who even threatened to ‘poke [her] with a stick’ – she agreed to read the short poem in front of the in-studio audience and her fellow guests.
For the entire duration, she had everyone transfixed.
Even a big Hollywood star like Arnold Schwarzenegger – though he’s not a classical actor himself- must have been taking notes.
Maybe he will have been inspired to take on some of Billy Shakespeare’s work himself in the future?
For real Shakespeare fans, Dench read from Sonnet 29, and it goes like this: “When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes,
“I all alone beweep my outcast state. And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
“And look upon myself and curse my fate. Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
“Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,
“Desiring this man’s art and that man’s scope,
“With what I most enjoy contented least;
“Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
“Haply I think on thee, and then my state
“(Like to the lark at break of day arising
“From sullen earth) sings hymns at heaven’s gate;
“For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings
“ That then I scorn to change my state with kings.”
Beautiful stuff, no?
Well, fans who have seen the clip online seemed to think so, anyway.
“That brought tears to my eyes,” one said.
“It was exactly what I needed to hear again right now.”
Another wrote: “Brought me to tears, we had to memorise a sonnet in high school and I picked 29.
“It’s been my doodle, my handwriting practice, my mantra when I’m lost and need to babble. Hearing her recite it sent me.”
A third simply wrote: “The Goddess works her magic.”
Anyway, if you want to know what it’s all for, as well as hearing more about Dench’s love of Shakespeare, you can buy her new book, called ‘Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent’.
A Graham Norton Show guest demanded a second dressing room just for their phone
A producer on the show has lifted the lid on some bizarre demands
A Graham Norton Show guest once requested a second dressing room ahead of the show.
And it wasn’t because they wanted extra space. Nope, they wanted the second dressing room for their mobile phone.
The Graham Norton Show has been running for nearly 20 years and, during its time, has seen many a celebrity, including some huge names in showbiz.
Apart from, of course, Norton, another person who has been there from the start is Graham Stuart.
Stuart founded the production company, So Television – along with Norton – and was producer on the show.
Stuart has now lifted the lid on some of the most memorable moments – including some rather juicy secrets from backstage.
“I can’t give names, but we once had a major artist insist on a second dressing room,” he told Metro.co.uk.
“Which, you know, that’s fair enough. But… it was for their phone.’
Stuart didn’t explain why the person needed a dressing room for their phone, so we can only imagine.
He also revealed that they once had to clear a room to store Dolly Parton’s wig.
However, Stuart did say that there were limits, adding: “This is a really important show for the entertainment business. You’re not going to mess around.
“You can ask for insane things. But why would we, why would we give them?
“There’s no sorting colours of M and M’s, that sort of thing although [we do obviously] want to look after people and make them feel comfortable.”
Norton himself has recently opened up about the worst guests he’s ever had on his show, revealing that one person actually fell asleep after drinking too much.
The guest was, of course, Mark Wahlberg, who, back in 2013, rocked up to the popular chat show absolutely steaming drunk.
Norton said on Kiss: “I had Mark Wahlberg fall asleep. He was very, very drunk. It was me, Michael Fassbender and Sarah Silverman.
“But it was hard to get anything done.”
This was because Wahlberg was constantly interrupting the other celebs in the middle of anecdotes, leaving Fassbender and Silverman exasperated.
Norton continued: “At one point, Michael Fassbender is telling a story and it’s going really well. Like, he’s getting through the story and I’m thinking, ‘wow this is going well’.
“And then I look over and Mark Wahlberg is just asleep. That’s why it’s going well!”
Featured Image Credit: BBC David M. Benett/Dave Benett/WireImage
