The Graham Norton Show

Reese Witherspoon talks about dating, and meeting Kate Middleton; Alex Kingston hints at a return to Doctor Who; and Reginald D Hunter reveals his own dating dilemmas. Plus, there's music from The Musgraves.

Reese Witherspoon assures Graham she is now fully recovered from what he describes as a 'particularly un-showbizzy' accident, "I was jogging and I got hit by a car, it's not funny at all. They said I am very hard headed because I landed right on my head and I have a scar, hence my new hairdo. I don't remember much about it but miraculously and thank God I am fine." And, on what became of the driver of the car, Reese says, almost apologetically, "She was 85 so they took away her licence and gave her a bus pass!"

Alex Kingston reveals she too has recently had a head injury, "I was jet lagged, working with comedians and I walked into a lamppost. It was a comedy moment, but I was so embarrassed because I thought I would be the butt of their jokes so I pretended I was fine and that night I started to feel really woozy and I fell flat on my face. I bit through my lower lip and knocked out my front teeth. It was really awful. I was doubly concussed and had to go straight to ER."

Reese says of her new rom com action movie, "I was familiar with the comedy part, but the action part threw me a little bit - the guns and bad guys chasing us. I found myself laughing a lot of the time, thinking, 'This is ridiculous, me in an action movie. It's so stupid,' but it works, it's really funny and, apparently, it's good."

Discussing the dating theme of her new movie, in which her character is chased by two men, and asked if she has ever in the past pursued a man in real life, Reese says, "No not really, but if there was a guy a saw and I thought he was cute I would let a friend of his know," adding emphatically, "But I wouldn't call him, no!"

Reginald D Hunter, surprised to be asked whether he has stopped making an effort on the dating front, says, "I went through a phase. I noticed that all the relationships I ever had happened because I did the asking, I was the one always doing the approaching. So I decided not to ask for a while... and it turns out it was just a phase... 'cos no one asked me out!"

Revealing she is a fan of the Royal Family, Reese says, "I was real excited about the Royal Wedding. I watched it - it was a good show." Asked if she was moved by it, she says, "I didn't cry, no, but I thought it was lovely and I did gasp a few times." And, on her recent encounter with the Duchess of Cambridge in Los Angeles, Reese says, "It was really fun. She was lovely and funny and she said some sweet girly things. I think she is handling herself so beautifully."

Talking about Doctor Who and whether she knew her character River Song was Amy Pond's daughter, Alex says, "I knew. I knew for a very long time - for the whole of the last series and they (the other actors) didn't know and they were constantly trying to get it out of me. They discovered it in that episode when they read the script."

Asked whether River Song can come back, Alex says, "You may see her again. Who knows," adding intriguingly, "Well, let's just say, Upstairs Downstairs and Doctor Who don't film at the same time."

And on her new role as a 'period lesbian' in Upstairs Downstairs, she says "Let's just say, 'She lives upstairs but goes downtown!'"

Asked if the creators of Upstairs Downstairs were annoyed by Downton Abbey coming along, she says, "There really is no point in trying to compare them. Of course they are both period dramas, but that is really the only thing they have in common. Everything else feels absolutely different - different time period, different worlds, and different sensibilities."

The Musgraves perform The Last of Me live in the studio and lead singer Matthew Bennett joins Graham for a chat.