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Graham Norton

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Graham Norton
Norton in 2022
Born
Graham William Walker

(1963-04-04) 4 April 1963 (age 61)
Clondalkin, County Dublin, Ireland
Alma materRoyal Central School of Speech and Drama
Occupations
  • Comedian
  • broadcaster
  • actor
  • writer
Years active1981–present
TelevisionThe Graham Norton Show
Spouse
Jonathan McLeod
(m. 2022)
Signature

Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), known professionally as Graham Norton, is an Irish comedian, broadcaster, actor, and writer. Known for his television work in the UK, Norton is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for his British comedy chat show The Graham Norton Show (2007–present). He has received the British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance three times for the chat show So Graham Norton (1998–2002).[1] He has been noted for his innuendo-laden dialogue and flamboyant presentation style.

After an early career doing stand-up comedy, Norton gained recognition for his portrayal of Father Noel Furlong in three episodes of the multiple award-winning sitcom Father Ted (1996–1998). From 2010 to 2020, he presented the Saturday-morning slot on BBC Radio 2, and from 2021 to 2024, he presented his weekend show for Virgin Radio UK.[2] Since 2009, Norton has served as the BBC's television commentator for the Eurovision Song Contest.[3] In 2012, he sold his production company So Television to ITV for around £17 million.[1] In 2019, Norton became a judge on the reality competition series RuPaul's Drag Race UK.[4]

Early life and education

[edit]

Norton was born Graham William Walker on 4 April 1963 at 48 St Brigid's Road, in Clondalkin, County Dublin, Ireland[5][6] to William "Billy" (died 2000), a sales representative for Guinness, and Rhoda Walker. He has an older sister, Paula (born 1959). Because of his father's job, he and his family moved around Ireland throughout his early childhood; they lived in Tramore, then Waterford, then Kilkenny, before settling in the town of Bandon, County Cork, where he grew up. He was raised in a Church of Ireland family, and has said that he felt somewhat isolated growing up as a Protestant in the predominantly Catholic south of Ireland. His father's family were from County Wicklow, while his mother is a native of Belfast.[7] He discovered during a 2007 episode of the genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are? that his father's direct ancestors were English, having originated in Yorkshire before emigrating to Ireland in 1713.[7]

Norton was educated at Bandon Grammar School in County Cork and then University College Cork, where he spent two years studying English and French in the 1980s. He did not complete his studies after having a breakdown and refusing to leave his flat.[8] He later received an honorary doctorate from the university in 2013.[9]

In 1981, Norton featured in an episode of RTÉ's Youngline, participating in an audience debate about underage teens attending discos.[10] In 1983, Norton travelled to San Francisco where he lived for one year, in the "Stardance" hippie commune house,[11][12][13][14] on Fulton Street and worked as a waiter.[15] In the late 1980s he moved to London to attend the Central School of Speech and Drama.[16] He again found work as a waiter during that period.[17] Upon joining the actors' union Equity, he chose Norton (his great-grandmother's maiden name) as his new surname, as there was already a comic-actor called Graham Walker, represented by the union.[7][18]

Career

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Channel 4

[edit]

In 1992, Norton's stand-up comedy drag act as a tea-towel-clad Mother Teresa of Calcutta in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe made the press when Scottish Television's religious affairs department mistakenly thought he represented the real Mother Teresa.[19] His first appearances in broadcasting were in the UK, where he had a spot as a regular comedian and panellist on the BBC Radio 4 show Loose Ends in the early 1990s, when the show ran on Saturday mornings. He was one of the early successes of Channel 5, winning an award as stand-in host of a late-night TV talk show usually presented by Jack Docherty.[20][21] This was followed by a comic quiz show on Channel 5 called Bring Me the Head of Light Entertainment, which was not well received as a programme but enhanced Norton's reputation as a comic and host. In 1996, he co-hosted the late-night quiz show Carnal Knowledge on ITV with Maria McErlane.

Between 1996 and 1998, Norton played the part of Father Noel Furlong in three episodes ("Hell", "Flight into Terror", "The Mainland") of the Channel 4 series Father Ted,[22] which was set on the fictional Craggy Island off the west coast of Ireland. Father Furlong was often seen taking charge of the St Luke's Youth Group.

After this early success, Norton moved to Channel 4 in 1998 to host his own chat shows, including the weekly So Graham Norton (1998–2002), followed by the daily weeknight show V Graham Norton (2002–03). As a performer who is not only openly gay,[23] but also camp and flamboyant, it was here that Norton's act was fully honed as a cheeky, innuendo-laden joker.[citation needed] In January 2003 Norton was listed in The Observer as one of the 1,000 funniest acts in British comedy. (Though Norton is Irish, the bulk of his television career has been in the UK.) In January 2004, he was named the most powerful person in TV comedy by Radio Times.[24] Also that year he was the subject of controversy in the United Kingdom when, on his Channel 4 show, he joked, "I bet Maurice Gibb's heart monitor was singing the tune of 'Stayin' Alive'", referring to the recent death of the Bee Gees singer. Gibb's brother Robin described Norton as "scum", threatened to "rip his head off" if he saw him, and demanded an apology from him, the show's producers, and Channel 4.[25] The Independent Television Commission investigated after complaints about this insensitivity were received and eventually Channel 4 had to make two apologies: one in the form of a caption slide before the show, another from Norton in person.[citation needed]

In the summer of 2004, Norton ventured into American television. The Graham Norton Effect debuted on 24 June 2004 on Comedy Central, and was also broadcast in the UK on BBC Three. In the midst of controversy surrounding Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson's Super Bowl performance, Norton was wary of moving into the market.[26]

BBC

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Television

[edit]
Norton at the 2009 BAFTA Awards

Norton began his career on the BBC in 2001 when he hosted Comic Relief 2001.[27]

In 2005, Norton moved to the BBC and began hosting the Saturday evening reality TV series Strictly Dance Fever on BBC One, as well as a new comedy chat show, Graham Norton's Bigger Picture. He also read stories some nights on the BBC children's channel CBeebies as part of Bedtime Hour.

In 2006, Norton hosted the BBC One series How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria? in which Andrew Lloyd Webber tried to find a lead actress for his West End version of The Sound of Music. Norton has subsequently presented the three follow-up series: Any Dream Will Do in 2007, in which a group of males competed to win the role of Joseph in the West End production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; I'd Do Anything in 2008, in which Lloyd Webber seeks to find the parts of Nancy and Oliver for Sir Cameron Mackintosh's production of Lionel Bart's Oliver!; and Over the Rainbow in 2010, following a similar format to find a new Dorothy for a Wizard of Oz West end Production.

Norton hosted various other shows for the BBC during this time, including When Will I Be Famous? (2007), The One and Only (2008) and Totally Saturday (2009). Since 2007, Norton has also been a regular host of The British Academy Television Awards. On 7 July 2007, Norton presented at Live Earth and undertook a trip to Ethiopia with the Born Free Foundation to highlight the plight of the Ethiopian wolf – the rarest canid in the world. In the same year, he was the subject of an episode of the BBC1 genealogy documentary Who Do You Think You Are?

Norton's chat show, The Graham Norton Show, began on 22 February 2007 on BBC Two. The format is very similar to his previous Channel 4 shows. On 6 October 2009, the show moved to BBC One, in a new one-hour format.

In May 2010, Norton stood in for Chris Evans' breakfast show on BBC Radio 2. Later that month, it was confirmed that he would be replacing Jonathan Ross's Saturday morning slot on the same station.

In December 2011, the panel show Would You Rather...? with Graham Norton premiered on BBC America in the time slot immediately following The Graham Norton Show. Recorded in New York, it is one of BBC America's earliest efforts at producing original programming, and is also the first panel game the channel has shown, either of British or American origin.

In October 2018, talking to BBC News about his reported 2017–18 BBC salary, Norton said that he genuinely "doesn't know" how the corporation arrived at that figure. "Myself and my agent look at that number and we go 'I wonder how they came up with that'," he says. "It bears no relation to anything I know. But if that's what they say I earn, that's what I earn."[28]

In February 2019, it was announced that Norton would be a judge on RuPaul's Drag Race UK alongside Alan Carr in a rotating basis. Norton and Carr were joined by permanent judges Michelle Visage and RuPaul.[29]

Radio

[edit]

Since 1999, Norton has appeared regularly on the BBC Radio 4 panel show Just a Minute, appearing in over 100 episodes.

On 2 October 2010, Norton began presenting a Saturday morning show on BBC Radio 2, which he took over from Jonathan Ross. Norton co-hosted with Maria McErlane who featured as an "agony aunt" on the segment "Grill Graham". "Tune with a Tale" is where a listener suggests playing a song with a plot, summarising the story it contains, and "I Can't Believe It's Not Better" is a feature where a listener requests a song that was previously a hit, but might be considered particularly bad now. Unlike Steve Wright in the Afternoon aired from 14:00 to 17:00 on weekdays, it is well established as being a "brand", with its end of each hour style of presentations, although Norton regularly uses the standard BBC Radio 2 jingles along with jingles unique to the Saturday morning show, written and performed by the BBC Radio 2 Orchestra.

In January 2012, Norton asked listeners to his Radio 2 show to help find his car, shortly after it was stolen. He called it "The Great Car Hunt" and told listeners to "Keep your eyes out for it. It was filthy by the way."[30]

On 11 November 2020, Norton announced that he would step down from the show and hosted his final Saturday morning show on 19 December 2020 after 10 years.[31] He was replaced by Claudia Winkleman from February 2021.

Norton joined Virgin Radio UK in January 2021, hosting shows on Saturday and Sunday.[32][33] In February 2024, Norton announced that "he wanted his weekends back" and would step away from hosting his weekend radio show for the station.[2]

Eurovision Song Contest

[edit]
Norton co-hosted the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool alongside Alesha Dixon, Julia Sanina and Hannah Waddingham.

Norton, along with Claudia Winkleman, hosted the first annual Eurovision Dance Contest, which was held on 1 September 2007 in London, England. The format was based on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing and the EBU's Eurovision Song Contest. Norton and Winkleman also hosted the 2008 contest in Glasgow, Scotland.

In October 2008, it was confirmed by the BBC that Norton would replace Terry Wogan as the presenter of the UK national selection of the Eurovision Song Contest, Your Country Needs You.

On 5 December 2008, it was announced that Norton would also take over from Wogan as the British commentator for the main Eurovision Song Contest.[34] The 54th Eurovision Song Contest was held in the Olympic Arena, Moscow on 16 May 2009.

In January 2009, Norton hosted Eurovision: Your Country Needs You, a talent show to find who would represent the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest that year. The winning song, It's My Time, was penned by Diane Warren and Andrew Lloyd Webber and was sung in the contest by Jade Ewen, who the public voted to represent the United Kingdom.[35]

Norton's debut jokes received some positive reviews from the British press. The Guardian noted his comments on Iceland's entry, which finished in second place, had "rooted around in a cupboard and found an old bridesmaid dress from 1987" and the Armenian singers, who finished in 10th place, were sporting traditional dress, "which would be true if you come from the village where Liberace is the mayor."[36] The Times noted his highlighting of the arrest of 30 gay rights protesters in Moscow – "heavy-handed policing has really marred what has been a fantastic Eurovision."[36]

In 2015, Norton, along with Petra Mede, hosted the Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits concert show on 31 March at the Eventim Apollo, in Hammersmith, London to commemorate the contest's 60th anniversary.

Norton played a fictionalised version of himself in his role of the British Eurovision commentator in the 2020 Netflix film Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.[37]

Norton co-hosted the final of the 2023 contest in Liverpool alongside Alesha Dixon, actress Hannah Waddingham and Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina, in addition to his usual commentary role which was shared with Mel Giedroyc.[38] With this, he also became the second-oldest person to ever host the Eurovision Song Contest, after the French presenter Léon Zitrone in 1978.

ITV

[edit]

In 2024, Norton returned to ITV to present a revival of Wheel of Fortune, including the celebrity version, featuring Gok Wan and Charlotte Church.[39][40][41]

Other activities

[edit]
Norton with his dog Bailey in 2006, supporting Crusaid

Norton played Mr Puckov in the 2006 American comedy spoof film Another Gay Movie. In 2007, Norton played Taylor in the romantic comedy film, I Could Never Be Your Woman.[citation needed]

Norton was involved in a high-publicity advertising campaign for the UK National Lottery as an animated unicorn, the stooge to a character based on Lady Luck (played by Fay Ripley). He has also advertised McVitie's biscuits.[42]

In 1999, Norton featured in the music video for Boyzone song "When The Going Gets Tough". Eight years later, in 2007, he featured in Girls Aloud and Sugababes' music video for the single "Walk This Way". Both songs were for Comic Relief.[citation needed]

In January 2009, Norton made his West End stage debut in a revival of La Cage Aux Folles at the Playhouse Theatre.[43] In 2009, Norton was the host of the comedy game-show Most Popular on US cable television channel WE tv.[44]

Norton wrote an advice column in The Daily Telegraph newspaper from 2006 to 2018. In October 2010, his columns were made into a book entitled Ask Graham, published by John Blake Publishing. In late 2018, Norton stood down from the role and the newspaper found a replacement as their agony aunt in Richard Madeley.[45]

In 2016, Norton published his debut novel Holding, published by Hodder & Stoughton, about a murder in an Irish rural community.[46] Holding won Popular Fiction Book of the Year[47] in the Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards 2016. In 2022, a adaptation of the book for television , directed by Kathy Burke, aired on ITV.[48]

On 7 March 2013, Norton broke the Guinness World Record for "Most Questions Asked on a TV Chat Show" on Comic Relief's Big Chat, which raised £1.02 million.[49]

In 2014, Norton criticised the decision by Irish broadcaster RTÉ to settle out of court with opponents of gay marriage who claimed they had been defamed in an edition of the Saturday Night Show.[50]

In 2014, Norton publicly backed "Hacked Off" and its campaign toward UK press self-regulation by "safeguarding the press from political interference while also giving vital protection to the vulnerable".[51][52][53]

In October 2014, Norton released his second memoir, The Life and Loves of a He-Devil. It won in the Non-Fiction Book of the Year category at the 2014 Irish Book Awards.[54] Also in 2014, he was named in the top 10 on the World Pride Power list.[55]

Norton has a shareholding of two per cent in New Zealand winery Invivo Wines.[56] Norton has his own wine range in collaboration with Invivo, the first wine was first released in 2014.[57]

In July 2015, the Bishop of Cork, Paul Colton, hosted an evening with Norton involving 90 minutes of interview, questions, and answers with an audience of more than 400 people. The event, part of the West Cork Literary Festival, was sold out.[58]

On 9 October 2020, Norton announced via Twitter he had been cast as the voice of Moonwind, a spiritual sign twirler, in the Disney/Pixar animated feature Soul, starring Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey.[59]

Personal life

[edit]

In 1989, Norton was mugged, beaten up, and stabbed by a group of attackers in London. He lost half of his blood and nearly died.[60][16][61] He said that an elderly couple were the ones who found him and that they "saved his life" after calling for an ambulance. He did not think the attack was homophobic, as he was walking alone at the time. He was hospitalised for two and a half weeks before eventually recovering from the attack.[62]

In January 2012, Norton's home was burgled. The keys to his Lexus were stolen during the burglary. He appealed for the return of his car during his BBC Radio 2 show the following day.[63]

Norton primarily resides in the Wapping area of London.[64] He had two dogs, a labradoodle called Bailey and a terrier called Madge, which he adopted from the UK charity Dogs Trust in 2012.[65] In September 2020, he said that Madge had died in December 2019, and in October 2020 he said that Bailey had recently died in Cork at the age of 15.[66][67]

He dated Kristian Seeber, who performs as the drag queen Tina Burner.[68] He split up from his partner of two years, Trevor Patterson, in 2013,[69] and broke up with his subsequent partner, Andrew Smith, in 2015.[70] He said in 2015 that his ex-boyfriends often resented the role they had to play in the public eye as his partner.[69]

On 10 July 2022, Norton held a wedding blessing party, with his new husband, Scottish filmmaker Jonathan "Jono" McLeod, at Bantry House in County Cork.[71][72][73][74]

In October 2022, Norton was involved in controversy over comments he made in an interview with Mariella Frostrup at the Cheltenham Literature Festival. He expressed scepticism over the existence of cancel culture, arguing that "I think the word should be 'accountability'." When Frostrup countered that J. K. Rowling had been "deluged with... anger, rage and attempts at censorship" over her views on transgender rights, Norton responded that it would be better to "talk to trans people, talk to the parents of trans kids, talk to doctors" about the issue than to celebrities like himself. Following criticism from Rowling and supporters, Norton deactivated his Twitter account.[75][76]

Filmography

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Films

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Year Title Character Notes
1999 Stargay Graham Solex
2005 Generation Fame Self TV film
2006 Another Gay Movie Mr. Puckov
2007 I Could Never Be Your Woman Taylor
Robbie the Reindeer in Close Encounters of the Herd Kind Computer voice Short film
2016 Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie Himself
2020 Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
Soul Moonwind (voice)
The Stand In Himself
2024 The Idea of You

Television

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1996 Carnal Knowledge Co-host 1 series
1996–1998 Father Ted Father Noel Furlong 3 episodes
1997 Bring Me the Head of Light Entertainment Himself
1998–2002 So Graham Norton Host 5 series
2001 Graham Goes To Dollywood Himself
The Kumars at No. 42
Live at the Roundhouse Comedy special
Rex the Runt: A Crap Day Out The Plants voice
Rex the Runt: Patio Osvalde Halitosis voice
2002 Absolutely Fabulous Himself Episode: "Gay"
2002–03 V Graham Norton Host
2003–04 Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn Himself 5 episodes
2004–05 The Graham Norton Effect Host 13 episodes
2005–06 Graham Norton's Bigger Picture Himself
Strictly Dance Fever
2006 The Last Ever, Ever Footballers' Wives Brendan Spunk
How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? Host/Presenter 9 episodes
2007 When Will I Be Famous? Himself
Who Do You Think You Are?
Saving Planet Earth Episode: "Saving Wolves"
Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List
Live Earth Himself TV special documentary
Eurovision Dance Contest 2007 Host TV special
Any Dream Will Do Presenter 11 episodes
2007–2019 The British Academy Television Awards Host Host for 2007 to 2011, 2013 to 2016, and 2019.
2007–present The Graham Norton Show 30 series
2008 I'd Do Anything Presenter 13 episodes
The One and Only Himself
Eurovision Dance Contest 2008 Host TV special
2009 Totally Saturday Himself 1 episode and unaired pilot
2009–10 Eurovision: Your Country Needs You Host 6 episodes
2009–present Eurovision Song Contest UK commentator/Co-presenter Comments grand finals only and co-present the 2023 final edition
2010 Over the Rainbow Host 18 episodes
2011–12 Would You Rather...? with Graham Norton Presenter BBC America
2015 Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits Co-presenter With Petra Mede
Adele at the BBC Presenter Television special
2016 RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 2 Himself/Guest judge
2016–2019 Children in Need Host With Ade Adepitan and Mel Giedroyc
2017 Let It Shine Co-presenter 6 episodes
2018 The Biggest Weekend Himself
2019–present RuPaul's Drag Race UK Himself/Judge
2020 British Academy Film Awards Host
Eurovision: Come Together
Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light UK commentator
2021 Queen of the Universe[77] Host
Celebrity Gogglebox for Su2c Himself Stand Up to Cancer special (Series 18, episode 5)
2022–present RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World Himself/Judge
2024 Wheel of Fortune Host ITV and Network 10 (Australia) reboot/revivals
LOL: Last One Laughing Ireland Amazon Prime Show
Eurovision 2024: Graham Meets Olly One-off special with Olly Alexander[78]

Bibliography

[edit]
Title Date Publisher ISBN
So Me 1 September 2004 Hodder & Stoughton 978-0-340-83348-3
Ask Graham 4 October 2010 John Blake 978-1-84358-297-7
The Life and Loves of a He Devil 23 October 2014 Hodder & Stoughton 978-1-4447-9026-9

Fiction

[edit]
Title Date Publisher ISBN
Holding 6 October 2016 Hodder & Stoughton 978-1-4447-9200-3
Home Stretch 26 April 2021 Coronet Books 978-1-4736-6516-3
Forever Home 29 September 2022 978-1-5293-9139-8
Frankie 12 September 2024 978-1-5293-9144-2

Accolades

[edit]
Year Award Work Result Notes
1999 Gaytime Award Gay Presenter of the Year Won
2000 British Academy Television Awards Best Entertainment Performance So Graham Norton Won
2001 Royal Television Society Best Presenter Won [79][80]
2001 British Academy Television Awards Best Entertainment Performance Won
2002 Won
2011 The Graham Norton Show Won
2012 Won
2013 Nominated
2013 Lew Grade Award for Entertainment Programme Won
2014 Best Entertainment Performance Nominated
2015 Nominated
2015 Best Comedy Programme or Series Won [81]
2016 Best Entertainment Performance Nominated
2017 National Television Awards Special Recognition Award Won [82]
2018 British Academy Television Awards Best Entertainment Performance Won [83]

Further reading

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See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Graham Norton sells production company So TV to ITV". BBC News. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Graham Norton leaves Virgin Radio weekend show". BBC News. 24 February 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  3. ^ Bootboy. "Reasons to be cheerful". Hot Press. Archived from the original on 19 February 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2007.
  4. ^ "Graham Norton, Alan Carr to judge RuPaul's Drag Race UK". BBC News. 14 February 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  5. ^ "A Corkman? Not so Graham Norton". Irish Examiner. 3 September 2004. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Our Graham". The Irish Times. 27 February 1999. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  7. ^ a b c "Graham Norton" Archived 27 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Who Do You Think You Are?
  8. ^ Rainey, Sarah (10 May 2013). "Graham Norton: the making of a national treasure". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  9. ^ "That's Dr Norton to you – comic gets honorary degree". Irish Independent. 8 June 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  10. ^ O'Keeffe, Chloe (18 July 2022). "'Always a bit of a dish' -- Fans react to resurfaced clip of Graham Norton from 1981". Extra.ie. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  11. ^ Ellen, Barbara (18 November 2007). "The name's Norton. Graham Norton". The Observer. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  12. ^ "10 Things You Never Knew About Graham Norton". bbcamerica.com. 2 October 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  13. ^ Vnuk, Helen (13 June 2021). ""Borderline" alcoholism and a near-fatal stabbing. The fascinating life of Graham Norton". Mamamia. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  14. ^ a b Julian, Robert (5 January 2010). "Good to be bad". Bay Area Reporter. San Francisco, CA. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  15. ^ "Graham Norton Movies and Shows". Apple TV. Retrieved 26 August 2023. He studied English and French at University College, Cork in the 1980s but dropped out after two years to travel the world. Norton landed in San Francisco, where he shared a communal house with other free spirits. While there, he also explored his sexual identity, taking both male and female companions, but eventually declared himself gay, due in part to the fact that most of the people in his life already assumed that he was openly gay. Norton returned to the United Kingdom in the late 1980s and studied at the University of London's Central School of Speech and Drama, where he struggled with playing heterosexual roles.
  16. ^ a b Jones, Liz (3 September 2004). "Graham's growing pains". London Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  17. ^ The F Word, Season 4 Episode 12
  18. ^ Norton, Graham (2004). So Me. Hodder & Stoughton. p. 4. ISBN 0-340-83348-3.
  19. ^ Turpin, Adrian. "Festival Eye". The Independent. p. 24.
  20. ^ "Graham Norton: Naughty but nice". BBC News. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  21. ^ Robinson, James. "Summer stand-ins steal the limelight". The Observer. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  22. ^ Rainey, Sarah (10 May 2013). "Graham Norton: the making of a national treasure". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  23. ^ Cohen, Benjamin (27 April 2006)."Graham Norton: "I'm too old to be attractive to gay men" Archived 24 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Pink News. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  24. ^ "Norton tops comedy list". London Evening Standard. London. 12 January 2004. Archived from the original on 13 September 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  25. ^ Day, Julia (10 February 2003). "Bee Gee lashes out over Norton jokes". The Guardian.
  26. ^ Norton, Graham (2004). So Me. Hodder & Stoughton. pp. 326–333. ISBN 0-340-83348-3.
  27. ^ "Graham Norton – BBC One London – 16 March 2001 – BBC Genome". The Radio Times (4019). Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk: 112. 8 March 2001. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  28. ^ "Graham Norton: My career could've gone a very different way". BBC News. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  29. ^ "Norton and Carr to judge RuPaul's Drag Race". BBC News. 14 February 2019.
  30. ^ "Norton's radio hunt for his stolen car". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 10 January 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  31. ^ West, Amy (11 November 2020). "Graham Norton is leaving his BBC Radio 2 show after 10 years". Yahoo News. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  32. ^ "How To Listen To Graham Norton on Virgin Radio | Virgin Radio UK". virginradio.co.uk. 21 January 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  33. ^ "Graham Norton joins Virgin Radio UK for weekends". RadioToday. 16 November 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  34. ^ "Eurovision: Norton to replace Wogan". BBC Press Release. BBC. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
  35. ^ "Eurovision Your Country Needs You [03/01/2009] (2009)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 11 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  36. ^ a b "Norton's Eurovision debut reviewed" Archived 22 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine. BBC News. 17 May 2009
  37. ^ "Rachel McAdams gives verdict on Graham Norton's performance in Netflix's Eurovision film". The Independent. 24 June 2020.
  38. ^ "Meet our Eurovision 2023 family!". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 22 February 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  39. ^ "itvx Wheel of Fortune".
  40. ^ "Graham Norton to host Wheel Of Fortune as 'iconic' game show makes return". Sky News. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  41. ^ Ltd, Pixel Love. "Wheel of Fortune spins its way back to ITV1 and ITVX". dock10. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  42. ^ "Graham Norton comes out with a long tube in his hand". The Grocer. 8 April 2000. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  43. ^ "Graham Norton to star in La Cage Aux Folles". The Daily Telegraph. 27 November 2008. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  44. ^ "Most Popular Bio: Graham Norton – WE tv". Wetv.com. 20 July 2012. Archived from the original on 11 February 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  45. ^ Waterson, Jim (7 October 2019). "'Toxic' Telegraph made me feel 'nauseous', says Graham Norton". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  46. ^ "Holding by Graham Norton review – a solid debut". The Guardian. 2 October 2016. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  47. ^ "Graham Norton and Paul O'Connell among prize winners at Irish Book Awards". 17 November 2016. Archived from the original on 21 November 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  48. ^ Mangan, Lucy (14 March 2022). "Holding review – a charming adaptation of Graham Norton's novel". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  49. ^ "Graham Norton breaks world record and raises £1 million with Big Chat – TV News". Digital Spy. 8 March 2013. Archived from the original on 10 March 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  50. ^ "Graham Norton 'furious' over RTE homophobia payout". BBC News. 21 February 2014. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014.
  51. ^ "Benedict Cumberbatch, Alfonso Cuaron, Maggie Smith Back U.K. Press Regulation". The Hollywood Reporter. 18 March 2014. Archived from the original on 7 June 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  52. ^ Burrell, Ian (18 March 2014). "Campaign group Hacked Off urge newspaper industry to back the Royal Charter on press freedom – Press – Media". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  53. ^ "The Leveson Royal Charter Declaration". Hacked Off. Archived from the original on 2 March 2015.
  54. ^ "The Life and Loves of a He Devil". Irish Book Awards. 14 December 2014. Archived from the original on 19 December 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  55. ^ "World Pride Power List 2014". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 February 2015.
  56. ^ Anthony, John (10 April 2016). "Graham Norton giving Invivo Wines celebrity factor". The Dominion Post. Wellington.
  57. ^ "Norton's Kiwi wine a star seller". The New Zealand Herald. 7 September 2014.
  58. ^ "Bishop Paul Colton Hosts an Evening with Graham Norton at West Cork Literary Festival". Ireland.anglican.org. 20 July 2015. Archived from the original on 19 April 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  59. ^ Graham Norton [@grahnort] (9 October 2020). "Very excited! Disney and Pixar have a new funny, sweet, incredibly timely film called Soul, and .... I'm in it! This is my character Moonwind, a spiritual sign twirler. See the movie exclusively on Disney+ from 25th December.#PixarSoul @PixarSoul" (Tweet). Retrieved 10 October 2020 – via Twitter.
  60. ^ "Graham Norton says he 'lost over half his blood' after being stabbed in 1989". The Independent. 27 September 2019.
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  62. ^ "Graham Norton reveals he was stabbed and left for dead in horrific attack". evoke.ie. 16 June 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
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  64. ^ Gerard Gilbert (19 October 2012). "Graham Norton: 'I had ambition at 40. That seems to have gone'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 24 February 2017.
  65. ^ Graham Norton introduces us to his dogs, Bailey & Madge! on YouTube
  66. ^ Brent, Harry. "Graham Norton suffers double heartbreak after revealing deaths of BOTH his beloved dogs". The Irish Post. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  67. ^ Brent, Harry. "Graham Norton left heartbroken after death of beloved rescue dog". The Irish Post. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
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  71. ^ "'I was a grubby git from Cork': Graham Norton on trying to 'reinvent' himself when he left Ireland". The Irish Examiner. 30 September 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
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  73. ^ "Graham Norton toasts marriage with VIP party in Bantry House". Irish Independent. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  74. ^ McLoughlin, Lisa (11 July 2022). "Graham Norton 'celebrates marriage with wedding party in native West Cork'". Evening Standard. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  75. ^ Wakefield, Lily (17 October 2022). "Graham Norton 'hounded off Twitter' for suggesting we listen to trans people". PinkNews.
  76. ^ "Graham Norton Exits Twitter Soon After On-Stage Discussion About Trans Rights". 17 October 2022.
  77. ^ Ravindran, Manori (27 September 2021). "Graham Norton to Host Drag Queen Singing Competition 'Queen of the Universe' for Paramount Plus (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
  78. ^ "Graham Meets Olly". bbc.co.uk/programmes. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  79. ^ "BBC drama triumphs at RTS programme awards". The Guardian. 21 March 2001. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016.
  80. ^ "Programme Awards Winners 2001". Royal Television Society. 14 March 2011.[permanent dead link]
  81. ^ "TV BAFTA winners: Graham Norton and Stephen Rea win coveted awards". Irish Independent. 10 May 2015.
  82. ^ "Graham Norton wins Special Recognition prize at National Television Awards". Radio Times. 25 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017.
  83. ^ "Virgin TV British Academy Television Awards Winners in 2018". www.bafta.org. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
[edit]
Preceded by Eurovision Song Contest UK television commentator
2009–present
With: Mel Giedroyc (2023)
Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by Eurovision Song Contest presenter
2023 (final only)
With: United Kingdom Alesha Dixon, Hannah Waddingham and Ukraine Julia Sanina
Succeeded by