Press clippings Page 40
Graham Norton's new chatshow drowns out rivals
Taking over Jonathan Ross's Friday-night position on BBC1, Norton's show was watched by nearly 3.5m, winning the slot.
Jason Deans, The Guardian, 25th October 2010Friday with Graham Norton better than Jonathan Ross
Friday Night With Graham Norton was a distinct improvement on the Jonathan Ross version. No sign of the Four Poofs or their Piano. No back-slapping with Ricky Gervais...
Jim Shelley, The Mirror, 25th October 2010BBC thrilled as Norton's show beats Ross in ratings
Graham Norton's new Friday night chat show topped Jonathan Ross's viewing figures - even without the bigname guests.
Daily Record, 24th October 2010The Graham Norton Show: Safe on the sofa
First Friday night as you-know-who's replacement, And unlike Jonathan Ross, the show's not all about him.
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian, 23rd October 2010First Night: The Graham Norton Show, BBC1
Relief at the BBC as Norton plays it safe in Ross's shoes.
Tom Sutcliffe, The Independent, 23rd October 2010After Jonathan Ross announced he was leaving the BBC, there was a frenzy of torrid speculation about his possible Friday Night with Jonathan Ross replacement. Which was ridiculous for two reasons: (a) it was only a chat show and (b) it had to be Graham Norton. Every half-baked pop star, every failing, narcissistic actor thinks that hosting a chat show is the easy route to riches because, surely, there's nothing to it. But Norton, more than anyone, shows all these no-hopers it needs consummate skill and an almost frightening ability to think on your feet. Norton is brilliant and so much better than Ross because he is able to spark and then sustain a proper conversation. And he's flipping funny. Tonight's opener features fiery songstrel Charlotte Church, Hollwood actress Maggie Gyllenhaal and comedian Russell Howard, without whom no panel game or chat show is complete. Or so it seems.
Alison Graham, Radio Times, 22nd October 2010'BBC can trust me', says Graham Norton
Graham Norton has assured the BBC he can be trusted not to ignite any scandals after stepping into Jonathan Ross's shoes on radio and TV.
Ian Youngs, BBC News, 19th October 2010Graham Norton: agony uncle
What qualifies me, Graham Norton, to be an agony uncle, you may have wondered way back at the beginning?
Graham Norton, The Telegraph, 2nd October 2010We do love a bit of camp, we Brits. Frankie Howerd, Larry Grayson, Dick Emery, Mr Humphries aka John Inman all perpetuated the non-threatening camp stereotype in the sixties and seventies - unlimited innuendo but no sex please, we're British.
That all changed in the eighties with the coming of alternative comedy and the black leather-clad Julian Clary. Camp's hidden agenda was well and truly outed, paving the way for Rhona Cameron, Graham Norton, Simon Fanshawe and others to do full-frontal gay comedy, warts and all.
In The Archive Hour, Simon Fanshawe traced the history of gay comedy over the past 30 years, from the double standards of Howerd and Grayson, always fearful of alienating the audience by appearing openly homosexual, through the overtly gay material of Clary and Cameron to today's more androgynous approach, where the quality of the material counts for more than any concerns about sexuality.
You got the impression Julian Clary quite missed the shock and awe days of the eighties - "I enjoyed the sharp intake of breath when I crossed the line" - though Fanshawe was in no doubt that today's open-minded audiences were much to be preferred.
Graham Norton said he soon got bored with doing gay jokes, having traded on his gayness at first, and consciously started to introduce other subjects. "I was lucky in that I could do Irish jokes as well as gay jokes," he said.
I'd never heard of the Australian Brendan Burns, a straight stand-up who does a funny line in anti-homophobic material, nor the Anglo-Bengali gay stand-up Paul Sinha, but their contributions sent me scurrying off to YouTube to see further exposure.
Nick Smurthwaite, The Stage, 28th September 2010Graham Norton show to replace Friday Night with Ross
Graham Norton's chat show is to replace Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, the controller of BBC One has said.
BBC News, 31st August 2010