19-05-2025
Graham Norton reveals the 'one particular thing' he will keep when leaving BBC
Graham Norton has revealed one precious piece of archive he will be looking to hold close when he finally leaves behind his BBC talk show.
The Graham Norton Show has aired on BBC One since 2009, having initially featured on BBC Two from its beginnings in 2007.
The Irish comedy legend has interviewed a who's-who of celebrity royalty in the eighteen-year interim, with many memorable moments on the famed red couch along the way. Graham Norton. Pic: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images
The show format of gathering together all guests for a communal chat has often provided impromptu moments of amusement – and bemusement for some guests too.
One such cringeworthy instance was in 2015, when actor Tom Hiddleston took into a Robert De Niro impersonation with the Taxi Driver star sat just feet away at the other end of the couch.
De Niro had a decidedly stiff reaction to the attempt and Norton revealed there had been plenty more silly moments which hadn't even aired – one of which he wants to keep a clipping of post-retirement. The Graham Norton Show has been running since 2007. Pic: BBC/So Television/PA Media/Isabel Infantes
'There are worse things than that [Hiddleston impersonation] on the cutting room floor,' Graham told The Adam Buxton Podcast. 'I can't name any names, but when I finally retire, I will have to go into the big bin of edits.
'There's one particular thing I want to keep with me forever, it's so bad, it's amazing.'
With the show recorded in front of a live studio audience, it means the moment in question would have been witnessed by a select few – but Norton reasoned that a retelling could never live up to the original moment itself.
He said: 'Describing it to someone would never be what it was, and for how long it went on for.'
Norton recently took a break from his chat show to embark on a comedy tour of Australia, entitled 'An Evening With Graham Norton'.
While retirement plans may figure in the distance, he is also soon set to host new reality series The Neighbourhood on ITV.
