Exclusive: Graham Norton Dishes on New Season, Dream Guest, and Taylor Swift’s Wedding

Graham Norton is uncorking a bottle of white wine and plumping the red sofa cushions in time for a new series of The Graham Norton Show. As he invites Hollywood’s shiniest stars to his red sofa for drinks and banter, fans can rest easy that the show has been commissioned for two more series after this one, meaning Graham will be swapping sparkling repartee with A-listers until at least 2029.

The return of The Graham Norton Show caps a brilliant year for Graham, as the show was drawn into the orbit of the world’s biggest pop star. Taylor Swift, who has called Graham ‘insanely charismatic and loveable,’ was a guest on his sofa last autumn when she got the idea for her hit song Opalite, subsequently inviting Graham and all that episode’s guests to be in the accompanying music video. The icing on the cake was in July, when Graham was a guest at the event of the year – Taylor’s wedding to football star Travis Kelce in New York.

We asked Graham to reflect on his excellent year, to confess why he’s nervous before each series, and dish on his new BFF status with Taylor Swift. 

How does it feel to come back for series 34?

It's genuinely shocking to me that I still really look forward to that first day back in the studio. It's always lovely. You know in [the BBC series] The Repair Shop when people bring in something scuffed and old and the repairers fix it and the person gets it back again and see it looking beautiful? It’s like that. The emotion I feel when I go back to the studio is very like those people when they get their shiny thing back. It looks new and yet it’s very familiar at the same time

What makes you most nervous before coming back?

The fact that you can’t get match fit for it. You can’t be, ‘I’ve done the 5k, I'm lifting weights, I've climbed several small mountains now I’m going to climb the big one.’ You go in cold, so there's always a slight trepidation and I’m thinking, ‘I wonder if I’ll remember how to do this,’ because I won’t have done it since February.  Thus far, my muscle memory has always kicked in.

How does it feel that the BBC has recommissioned the show? 

It's very gratifying that they want us. You never take that for granted. They've just got rid of some shows so, we're very grateful that we're back and that there's still an audience.  Also, I think one of the good things about the show is it has a big international reach, so it's kind of a good calling card for BBC.

Did you pause before accepting the three-series renewal?

Not really, because the way it lands, when I finish that third series in early 2029, I'll be 65. I think if they were to offer me more after that, then there might be a slight pause for thought.  It will be: ‘Do I still want to be doing this when I’m 68 or 69?’ But at 63 now, 65 doesn’t seem that terrible. And I know lots of people working at 65.

Has your interview style changed over the years?

I hope it has! I hope I haven’t just stayed still over the last 30 years. My questions have got shorter: when I’ve watched old interviews, my questions were so long, with so many qualifying phrases that I think, ‘Just ask the bloody question!’ The other thing I don't do anymore is put jokes in the questions.  I used to try to get a laugh on the question but decided that that’s unfair on the guest: the laugh should be from their answer. And then if they don’t get a laugh, maybe I can with a witty response.

Do you ever get nervous before you chat with a star?

The big guests always make you nervous, because you don’t want to mess it up for them. People like Tom Cruise, Cher, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, George Clooney – all those big hitters come with a legacy and it’s extraordinary that they’ve agreed to sit on our sofa.  Once they’re there you want them to have a nice time and you don't want them to sit there thinking, ‘What a terrible show. Why did I say yes to this?!’ So, I guess that's where the nerves are. 

Can you tell us some juicy behind-the-scenes stories?

Before the show, we all gather backstage in a small, dimly lit area. I don’t go on until all the guests are there with me, but very occasionally it turns into a strange waiting game where one star won’t leave their dressing room to join our huddle until they hear that another star has left their dressing room.  So, we’re all just stood there waiting for a couple of people who apparently need to be last to set. It’s very odd.

Is there a lot of chit-chat when you meet backstage?

Sometimes they're catching up with each other or introducing themselves. But it’s an odd situation for me – I’m careful not to go too far down the coal mine of chat with them there because I want them to be funny and interesting on the show: ‘Save that anecdote for when you’re in front of the audience, please!’

When Taylor Swift was a guest on the show last autumn, it sparked her idea for the song Opalite. She invited you and all the guests in that episode (Domhnall Gleeson, Greta Lee, Lewis Capaldi, Jodie Turner-Smith and Cillian Murphy) to appear in the music video. What was that like?!

At the end of the video Taylor puts in that little clip from the chat show where Domhnall says, ‘I’m hoping to get in a Taylor Swift music video,’ and you see her go, ‘Oh!’ – she has a light bulb moment.  It was only a few weeks later that we got an email and she had storyboarded the whole thing; the whole video was there and all the parts we were playing. Then on the day, we were in a shopping centre in Croydon filming this video that she directed herself. It was amazing!

Then Taylor invited you to her wedding! What was that like?

I was very surprised because I shouldn't be at Taylor Swift's wedding! At first, I was thinking, ‘Am I really invited or am I going to some sort of after-party, like the barbecue on the Sunday?’ But no, it was the actual wedding, and everyone was giddy with excitement. Once inside, it really was just a wedding – lovely and sweet and all about them and their love story.

 When I was milling around, I suddenly thought, ‘I'm actually very well-placed to be a guest at this wedding,’ because there were a lot of famous people there and I've met them all through the show. So, I was able to chat to everybody.  It was just nice to meet them in a totally social setting, where you could let your hair down.

Lastly, tell us which dream guests you’d still like to get on the show.

 Any of the young royals – William and Kate would be nice.  We’re working on getting Brad Pitt for the first time. I do believe he will come on. We’re hoping that Julia Roberts or George Clooney will have a word with him and say, ‘It’s really not that bad!’

The new season of The Graham Norton Show premieres Saturday, October 3, at 11 p.m. ET/PT on BBC First in Canada, and will feature Tom Cruise (Digger), Florence Pugh (East of Eden), Lolly Adefoe (Oh, Mary!), comic John Bishop (Wisdom of the Crowd), and a performance by Emeli Sandé.