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Exclusive: The TV Watercooler Goes Behind the Scenes at a Taping of The Graham Norton Show

behind the scenes at the graham norton show

On Thursday, January 23, while vacationing in London, I received a very special invitation from BBC First to attend a taping of The Graham Norton Show along with an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour and sit-down chat with executive producer Graham Stuart.

behind the scenes at the graham norton show

I arrived at the legendary Television Centre in White City, West London, around 5 p.m. The cold rain didn’t dampen the spirits of the fans queuing outside, a buzz of anticipation was hanging in the air.

behind the scenes at the graham norton show

I felt incredibly lucky to bypass the line and present myself at the reception of BBC Studioworks. This wasn’t just any studio – this was the place where television history was made.

Growing up surrounded by the chaotic energy of MuchMusic in Toronto, or visits to New York City’s 30 Rock for Late Night, I thought I’d seen it all, but this felt different. This was hallowed ground where Top of the Pops and Fawlty Towers were filmed – shows I’d watched countless times with family. This was British television royalty.  And I was about to walk onto the very same stage that John Cleese played Basil Fawlty and David Bowie, The Beatles – and even the Spice Girls performed on!

It was time. And incredibly, Graham Stuart, the award-winning producer of The Graham Norton Show, personally came to escort me to the iconic stage.

A polite hello and quick exchange about my London adventures later, I found myself on the famed set of The Graham Norton Show. My first destination: The Big Red Chair! This isn’t just any chair, it’s the hot seat where audience members share their most hilarious or bizarre tales, hoping to win over Graham and his celebrity guests. The stakes are high: impress them, and you walk away triumphant! Bore them, and you’re flipped backward by the dreaded lever. I took a deep breath and sat down… luckily, my story kept me upright!

behind the scenes at the graham norton show

We then walked over to the main stage where Olly Alexander was rehearsing his new single “When We Kiss.” I was allowed to snap a few photos and videos as he sang. It was incredible to be able to capture these moments. Back in Canada, we’re never allowed to capture any footage!

Next, we quietly walked over to the iconic red sofa. It was surprisingly smaller than I’d imagined – on TV, it looks enormous! Up close, it felt almost cozy. Then, the highlight: I got to sit in Graham’s char. The studio lights seemed to focus on me, and for 15 seconds, I pretended I was the host, the vast space stretching out before me.

behind the scenes at the graham norton show

We then walked over the control room. Walls of monitors flashed with camera feeds, as the crew worked together like a well-oiled machine. While the lighting was impressive down on the set, it was even more magical in the control booth as Olly continued to rehearse.  I think in total, I must have heard “When We Kiss” about five or seven times and loved it each time.

Graham and I walked between the studios as I saw directions for some of ITV’s daytime programs, including Loose Women, Lorraine, and This Morning – which features viral sensation Alison Hammond!

behind the scenes at the graham norton show

We settled in the Green Room, where I got the chance to speak with Graham about collaborating with Graham Norton for over 20 years, which celebrity guest “got away,” if there was any guest who left him starstruck.

behind the scenes at the graham norton show

Is there a big name that you haven’t had yet as a guest on the show? Who is on top of your wish list?

The amazing thing is, is that we have nearly done them all! There are a couple [on the list]. In the last season, we got one of them, which was Julia Roberts! That was amazing. She was fantastic.

Brad Pitt is the one that got away! He has said that he’d be on the show a couple of times, but it hasn’t happened. I don’t think he’s very happy doing interviews particularly! So, maybe one day.

But it’s Brad! There’s not many left on the list.

Was there a guest combination that surprised you? The banter between the guests on the couch can be so amazing. One that comes to mind is with Lady Gaga and June Brown, who played Dot Cotton on EastEnders.

Yes, I think that’s probably the most unusual combination, which turned magical because you could say that these were two very different women, who actually turned out to be the same!

One was an internationally known singer, and one worked in a launderette in Walford!

That was the magic. It works sometimes! It’s not so much as the combination, but the ability of Graham Norton to ringmaster it so that people are comfortable with each other and everyone feels equal. It’s where a British comic can feel comfortable with an A-List Hollywood star.

How is it like to collaborate with Graham Norton. You’ve worked together for over 20 years and you must know each other so well by now.

Yeah, we came together while working on another show a long time ago. 26 years ago! Other than having the same Christian name, I hope that we both recognized that we had the same work ethic, a knowledge of talk shows, and a belief that we could do something good.

I recognized in him that he was a major, major talent.  As a producer, that’s the dream! That somebody walks into your office as a major talent and that he’s willing to work with you, t harness that talent and show that talent. And it’s worked that way, ever since!

The studio itself is iconic. Did Fawlty Towers and Top of the Pops film at this same stage?

Yeah, this is TC1! This is Television Centre. The BBC is gone [from the name], but these studios remain.

Some of the greatest television entertainment and drama has happened on that studio floor, and now it’s us!

We haven’t always been here. We were at London Studios, on the South Bank. That’s where we had worked for most of our career, but that’s closed now and we’ve come here.

You feel the history in these corridors. This Green Room that we’re in now, didn’t used to look like this a long time ago, but some of the great names would have been walking through these walls!

Is there a guest that left you starstruck?

People asks that and it’s very hard [to answer]. In terms of being starstruck, yeah, there are people who change the air when they come in the room. It’s like the first time that you meet Tom Cruise or see Tom Hanks!

The ones that really change me, and maybe it’s because I worked in sports for a long time, is when the big sports stars come in. If you have Anthony Joshua, when he was Heavyweight Champion, or Thierry Henry! I like football and he was the greatest Arsenal player.

The stars… the big ones don’t let you down! They have an aura and you feel it every time.

It’s a big one tonight with Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell, who are promoting their new Prime Video film You’re Cordially Invited. Ariana Grande is also here and she just got nominated for an Oscar earlier today for Wicked. Don Gilet who was in EastEnders and now stars in Death in Paradise and Olly Alexander is performing.

It’s a good one! Reese and Will have done the show before and they’ve been great guests.

Ariana – this will be exciting! We’ve had Cynthia Erivo from Wicked, so we’ve been talking about Wicked and it’s such a big hit. So, it’ll be nice to see Ariana. She’s incredibly popular.

You can always tell when peoples’ names come up and I get people saying [at work], “Oh, my daughter would really like to be at the show,” or “My son would really like to be at the show!” Ariana’s right up there!

behind the scenes at the graham norton show

After the interview, I waited in the Green Room until the taping began. I even caught a glimpse of Reese and Will heading to their dressing rooms – Will offered a quick “Hello!”

New episodes of The Graham Norton Show air on BBC One on Friday nights and are typically filmed the day before. My taping was scheduled for a later start (as Reese and Will had another promotional engagement for You’re Cordially Invited), and I took my seat at 7:30 p.m. – an amazing spot with a clear view of everything! After a fun audience warm-up, filming began around 7:45 p.m. and continued well past 9. As a content producer, I was already eager to see the final edit! The live taping felt do seamless, the time flew by!

behind the scenes at the graham norton show

My favourite part from the taping was Ariana having to explain what “Holding Space” meant! And then of course she was congratulated for her Academy Award nomination. “It was so surreal – I did not expect it at all. It is overwhelming. I have been sobbing all day. It has been really emotional, and I am so grateful for our Wicked family and for Cynthia being celebrated. It is very special.”

behind the scenes at the graham norton show

Will shared that while doing improv at the Groundlings Theatre in Los Angeles, he got to do improv for the jurors of the OJ Simpson trial. “They seemed mildly entertained, but it was very bizarre.”

Reese revealed what happened when she was performing jury duty seven years after Legally Blonde, “When we went to deliberation and it came to choosing a foreman, the entire jury picked me. When I asked them why, they said it was because I went to law school!”

behind the scenes at the graham norton show

Don spoke about going from playing a serial killer on EastEnders to playing a detective on Death in Paradise and everyone mused that the island will soon run out of inhabitants because people keep dying.

behind the scenes at the graham norton show

Olly – who you might remember from the limited series It’s A Sin – then performed “When We Kiss,” and joined the rest of the guests on the couch.

Following the taping, I went back to the Green Room to collect my things and got to see Ariana up close as she and her team left the studio!

The Graham Norton Show airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on BBC First in Canada. This particular episode featuring Reese Witherspoon, Will Ferrell and Ariana Grande airs this Wednesday, Feb. 5.

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