Graham Norton | |
|---|---|
 Norton in 2022 | |
| Born | Graham William Walker (1963-04-04)4 April 1963 (age 62) Clondalkin, County Dublin, Ireland |
| Alma mater | Royal Central School of Speech and Drama |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1981–present |
| Spouse | |
| Signature | |
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Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), known professionally asGraham Norton, is an Irish comedian, broadcaster, actor, and writer. He is a five-timeBAFTA TV Award winner for the comedy chat showThe Graham Norton Show (2007–present). He has received theBritish Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance three times for the chat showSo Graham Norton (1998–2002).[1] He has been noted for hisinnuendo-laden dialogue and flamboyant presentation style.
After an early career doing stand-up comedy, Norton gained recognition for his portrayal ofFather Noel Furlong in three episodes of the multiple award-winning sitcomFather Ted (1996–1998). From 2010 to 2020, he presented the Saturday-morning slot onBBC Radio 2, and from 2021 to 2024, he presented his weekend show forVirgin Radio UK.[2] Since 2009, Norton has served as theBBC's television commentator for the Grand Final of theEurovision Song Contest.[3] In 2012, he sold his production companySo Television toITV for around £17 million.[1] In 2019, Norton became a judge on the reality competition seriesRuPaul's Drag Race UK.[4]
Norton was born Graham William Walker on 4 April 1963, at 48 St Brigid's Road, inClondalkin, County Dublin, Ireland,[5][6] to William "Billy" (died 2000), a sales representative forGuinness, 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 inTramore, thenWaterford, thenKilkenny, before settling in the town ofBandon, County Cork, where he grew up. He was raised in aChurch of Ireland family, and has said that he felt somewhat isolated growing up as aProtestant in thepredominantly Catholic south of Ireland. His father's family were fromCounty Wicklow, while his mother is a native ofBelfast.[7] He discovered during a 2007 episode of the genealogy seriesWho Do You Think You Are? that his father's direct ancestors were English, having originated inYorkshire before emigrating to Ireland in 1713.[7]
Norton was educated atBandon Grammar School in County Cork and thenUniversity 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 ofRTÉ'sYoungline, 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 theCentral School of Speech and Drama.[16] He again found work as a waiter during that period.[17] Upon joining the actors' unionEquity, he chose Norton (his great-grandmother's maiden name) as his new surname, as there was already a comic-actor calledGraham Walker (died 2013), represented by the union.[7][18]
In 1992, Norton's stand-up comedy drag act as a tea-towel-cladMother Teresa of Calcutta in theEdinburgh Festival Fringe made the press whenScottish 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 theBBC Radio 4 showLoose Ends in the early 1990s, when the show ran on Saturday mornings.
He was one of the early successes ofChannel 5, winning an award as stand-in host of alate-night TV talk show usually presented byJack Docherty.[20][21] This was followed by a comicquiz show on Channel 5 calledBring 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 showCarnal Knowledge onITV withMaria McErlane.
Between 1996 and 1998, Norton played the part ofFather Noel Furlong in three episodes ("Hell", "Flight into Terror", "The Mainland") of theChannel 4 seriesFather Ted,[22] which was set on the fictionalCraggy 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 weeklySo Graham Norton (1998–2002), followed by the daily weeknight showV Graham Norton (2002–03). In January 2003 Norton was listed inThe Observer as one of the 1,000 funniest acts inBritish comedy. (Though Norton is Irish, the bulk of his television career has been in the UK.) In January 2004, he was named themost powerful person in TV comedy byRadio Times.[23]
Also that year he was the subject of controversy in the United Kingdom when, on his Channel 4 show, he joked, "I betMaurice Gibb'sheart monitor was singing the tune of 'Stayin' Alive'", referring to the recent death of theBee Gees singer. Gibb's brotherRobin 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.[24] TheIndependent 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.[24]
In summer 2004, Norton ventured into American television.The Graham Norton Effect debuted on 24 June 2004, onComedy Central, and was also broadcast in the UK onBBC Three. In the midst of controversy surroundingJustin Timberlake and Janet Jackson's Super Bowl performance, Norton was wary of moving into the market.[25]
Norton began his career on the BBC in 2001, when he hostedComic Relief 2001.[26]
In 2005, Norton moved to theBBC and began hosting the Saturday evening reality TV seriesStrictly Dance Fever onBBC 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 channelCBeebies as part ofBedtime Hour.
In 2006, Norton hosted the BBC One seriesHow Do You Solve a Problem like Maria? in whichAndrew Lloyd Webber tried to find a lead actress for his West End version ofThe Sound of Music. Norton subsequently presented the three follow-up series:Any Dream Will Do in 2007, in which a group of men competed to win the role of Joseph in the West End production ofJoseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat;I'd Do Anything in 2008, in which Lloyd Webber seeks to find the parts of Nancy and Oliver forSir Cameron Mackintosh's production ofLionel Bart'sOliver!; andOver the Rainbow in 2010, following a similar format to find a newDorothy for aWizard of Oz West End production.
Norton hosted various other shows for the BBC during this time, includingWhen Will I Be Famous? (2007),The One and Only (2008) andTotally Saturday (2009). Since 2007, Norton has also been a regular host ofThe British Academy Television Awards. On 7 July 2007, Norton presented atLive Earth and undertook a trip toEthiopia with theBorn Free Foundation to highlight the plight of theEthiopian wolf – the rarest canid in the world. In the same year, he was the subject of an episode of the BBC1 genealogy documentaryWho Do You Think You Are?
Norton's chat show,The Graham Norton Show, began on 22 February 2007, onBBC 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 forChris Evans' breakfast show onBBC Radio 2. Later that month, it was confirmed that he would be replacingJonathan Ross's Saturday morning slot on the same station.
In December 2011, the panel showWould You Rather...? with Graham Norton premiered onBBC America in the time slot immediately followingThe Graham Norton Show. Recorded in New York, it is one of BBC America's earliest efforts at producing original programming, and is also the firstpanel 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."[27]
In February 2019, it was announced that Norton would be a judge onRuPaul's Drag Race UK alongsideAlan Carr in a rotating basis. Norton and Carr were joined by permanent judgesMichelle Visage andRuPaul.[28]
Since 1999, Norton has appeared regularly on the BBC Radio 4 panel showJust a Minute, appearing in over 100 episodes.
On 2 October 2010, Norton began presenting a Saturday morning show onBBC Radio 2, which he took over fromJonathan Ross. Norton co-hosted withMaria 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. UnlikeSteve 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."[29]
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.[30] He was replaced byClaudia Winkleman from February 2021.
Norton joinedVirgin Radio UK in January 2021, hosting shows on Saturday and Sunday.[31][32] 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]
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Norton, along withClaudia Winkleman, hosted the first annualEurovision Dance Contest, which was held on 1 September 2007, in London, England. The format was based on the BBC'sStrictly Come Dancing and theEBU'sEurovision Song Contest. Norton and Winkleman also hosted the2008 contest in Glasgow, Scotland.
In October 2008, it was confirmed by theBBC that Norton would replaceTerry Wogan as the presenter of the UK national selection of theEurovision 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.[33] The54th Eurovision Song Contest was held in theOlympic Arena, Moscow on 16 May 2009.
In January 2009, Norton hostedEurovision: 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 byDiane Warren andAndrew Lloyd Webber and was sung in the contest byJade Ewen, who the public voted to represent the United Kingdom.[34]
Norton's debut jokes received some positive reviews from the British press.The Guardian noted his comments onIceland's entry, which finished in second place, had "rooted around in a cupboard and found an old bridesmaid dress from 1987" and theArmenian singers, who finished in 10th place, were sporting traditional dress, "which would be true if you come from the village whereLiberace is the mayor."[35]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."[35]
In 2015, Norton, along withPetra Mede, hosted theEurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits concert show on 31 March at theEventim Apollo, inHammersmith, 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 2020Netflix filmEurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.[36]
Norton co-hosted the final of the2023 contest inLiverpool alongsideAlesha Dixon, actressHannah Waddingham and Ukrainian singerJulia Sanina, in addition to his usual commentary role which was shared withMel Giedroyc.[37] With this, he also became the second-oldest person to ever host the Eurovision Song Contest, after the French presenterLéon Zitrone in1978.
In 2024, Norton returned to ITV to present a revival ofWheel of Fortune, including the celebrity version and anAustralian revival, featuringGok Wan andCharlotte Church.[38][39][40]
Norton played Mr Puckov in the 2006 American comedy spoof filmAnother Gay Movie. In 2007, Norton played Taylor in theromantic comedy filmI Could Never Be Your Woman.[citation needed]
Norton was involved in a high-publicity advertising campaign for the UKNational Lottery as an animatedunicorn, the stooge to a character based onLady Luck (played byFay Ripley). He has also advertisedMcVitie's biscuits.[41]
In 1999, Norton featured in the music video forBoyzone song "When The Going Gets Tough".[42] Eight years later, in 2007, he featured inGirls Aloud andSugababes' music video for the single "Walk This Way". Both songs were forComic Relief.[citation needed]
In January 2009, Norton made his West End stage debut in a revival ofLa Cage Aux Folles at the Playhouse Theatre.[43] In 2009, Norton was the host of the comedy game-showMost Popular on US cable television channelWE tv.[44]
Norton wrote an advice column inThe Daily Telegraph newspaper from 2006 to 2018. In October 2010, his columns were made into a book entitledAsk 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 inRichard Madeley.[45]
In 2016, Norton published his debut novelHolding, 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 EnergyIrish Book Awards 2016. In 2022,an adaptation of the book for television, directed byKathy Burke, aired onITV.[48]
On 7 March 2013, Norton broke theGuinness World Record for "Most Questions Asked on a TV Chat Show" onComic Relief's Big Chat, which raised £1.02 million.[49]
In 2014, Norton criticised the decision by Irish broadcasterRTÉ to settle out of court with opponents ofgay marriage who claimed they had been defamed in an edition of theSaturday 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 2014Irish 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 percent in New Zealand wineryInvivo Wines.[56] Norton has his own wine range in collaboration with Invivo, the first wine was first released in 2014.[57]
In July 2015, theBishop 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 theDisney/Pixar animated featureSoul, starringJamie Foxx andTina Fey.[59]
Norton primarily resides in theWapping area of London. He also owns homes inMurray Hill, Manhattan, and inAhakista, County Cork.[60][61][62] He previously had a home inBexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, but sold it in 2022.[63]
In 1989, Norton was a victim of a violent mugging by a group of attackers in London where he lost half of his blood and nearly died.[64][16][65] 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 washomophobic, as he was walking alone at the time. He was hospitalised for two and a half weeks before recovering from the attack.[66]
In January 2012, Norton's home was burgled and the keys to hisLexus were stolen. He appealed for the return of his car during hisBBC Radio 2 show the following day.[67]
He adopted two dogs from the UK charityDogs Trust in 2012 which he regarded as his "significant others", alabradoodle called Bailey and aterrier called Madge.[68] Madge was at least 16 years old when she died in December 2019. In October 2020, he said that Bailey had recently died inCork at the age of 15.[69][70]
Norton had a five-yearon-again, off-again relationship with Kristian Seeber, whom he met atBarracuda Lounge in New York City in 2001. Seeber performs as drag queenTina Burner, and moved to the United Kingdom to be with Norton until their separation in 2006.[71][72] Norton had a two-year relationship with Trevor Patterson which ended in 2013,[73] and a three-year relationship with Andrew Smith, which ended in 2015.[74]
On 10 July 2022, Norton married Scottish filmmaker Jono McLeod atBantry House in County Cork.[75][76][77][78][79]
In October 2022, Norton was involved in controversy over comments he made in an interview withMariella Frostrup at theCheltenham Literature Festival. He expressed scepticism over the existence ofcancel culture, arguing that "I think the word should be 'accountability'." When Frostrup countered thatJ. K. Rowling had been "deluged with ... anger, rage and attempts at censorship" overher 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. Rowling criticised Norton's comments onTwitter, citing him as part of a "recent spate of bearded men stepping confidently onto their soapboxes to define what a woman is and throw their support behind rape and death threats to those who dare disagree". Following further criticism on Twitter from supporters of Rowling, Norton deactivated his Twitter account.[80][81]
| Year | Title | Character | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Stargay | Graham Solex | |
| 2005 | Generation Fame | Self | Television 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 |
| 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 |
| Title | Date | Publisher | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holding | 6 October 2016 | Hodder & Stoughton | 978-1-4447-9200-3 |
| A Keeper | 4 October 2018 | Coronet Books | 978-1473664975 |
| Home Stretch | 26 April 2021 | 978-1-4736-6516-3 | |
| Forever Home | 29 September 2022 | 978-1-5293-9139-8 | |
| Frankie | 12 September 2024 | 978-1-5293-9144-2 |
| 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 | [85][86] | |
| 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 | [87] | ||
| 2016 | Best Entertainment Performance | Nominated | |||
| 2017 | National Television Awards | Special Recognition Award | Won | [88] | |
| 2018 | British Academy Television Awards | Best Entertainment Performance | Won | [89] | |
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.
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| Preceded by | Eurovision Song ContestUK television commentator 2009–present With:Mel Giedroyc (2023) | Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Eurovision Song Contest presenter 2023 (final only) With:  Alesha Dixon,Hannah Waddingham and Julia Sanina | Succeeded by |
