British Comedy Guide
The Graham Norton Show. Graham Norton. Credit: So Television, Christopher Baines
The Graham Norton Show

The Graham Norton Show

  • TV chat show
  • BBC One / BBC Two
  • 2007 - 2024
  • 514 episodes (32 series)

Comic chat show presented by Graham Norton. The biggest names in showbiz join the host on his sofa.

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Series 14, Episode 9 - Ben Stiller, Jamie Oliver, Martin Freeman, Rebecca Ferguson

Ben Stiller talks about a Zoolander sequel, Martin Freeman compares The Hobbit to Sherlock, Jamie Oliver says he used to get on with Gordon Ramsey and Rebecca Ferguson performs live in the studio.

Preview clips

Further details

Fresh from last night's British Comedy Awards win, Graham Norton welcomes Hollywood star Ben Stiller, Sherlock and The Hobbit star Martin Freeman, campaigning chef Jamie Oliver and pop star Rebecca Ferguson.

Ben, talking about his new movie, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and the stunts he undertook himself, says "They were dangerous but we worked it out and then I'd let a stunt coordinator take over, but I tried to do as much for real as possible." On directing the film as well as starring in it, he says, "It can be frustrating dealing with yourself as an actor."

Asked if it's true that there will be a Zoolander sequel, he says, "Possibly. There is a script and we are trying to figure out if we can get it together. I just want to make sure we can put it together the way it should be."

On the success of the original Zoolander film he says, "It wasn't a big hit. It came out 10 days after 9/11, so a strange time to release a movie but I'm not sure it wouldn't have been any bigger at any other time. But it's caught on over the years. Fans still send me pictures on Twitter of their babies doing a Blue Steel look."

Martin, talking about the epic Hobbit trilogy, says "It's done, it's all finished - for however long your think you are going to be in a Peter Jackson film, you are going to be in it longer. It was a long gig. My main challenge was checking in with Peter to see where Bilbo was at a given time. Two and a half years is a very long time to keep a handle on it."

Talking about the popularity of The Hobbit, he says, "We all make films hoping people will come and see them and I've made plenty of films people didn't come and see, so it's nice to have things people do like. The fact that so many people like it is cheering."

Asked if it's Sherlock or The Hobbit that has had the most impact on his life, he says, "It's probably Sherlock. The Hobbit was an extremely big gig. It's enormous but when people make themselves known to me it is more for Sherlock."

Jamie, talking about his early Naked Chef days says, "I was constantly asked to get my kit off or juggle fruit and veg. It was a nightmare. It took a while to get the confidence to say no. The thing is, I've got four kids now and they are at an age when they are going to start asking, 'Why did you do that?'"

Asked why his wife Jules didn't feature in early episodes of The Naked Chef, he says, "For the first series they didn't want her to exist." Asked by Martin if it was about making him appear more as a cool young bachelor, Jamie says, "I think that might have been it. She was in the bedroom during filming which was a weird thing as it was our house. But we brought her out in the end!"

On his campaigns, he says, "I learnt a lot from Fifteen and through that came School Dinners. I knew it was going to be big but I didn't think I'd get half a billion pounds out of the British government and make law. I never expected it. I was never political, I had an opinion but I'd never really voiced it. I don't think people like you to have an opinion and I divide people all the time. It's very strange."

Talking about Gordon Ramsey and why they fell out he says, "We used to get on and I don't know what happened. It is a bit of a shame because when I was a young chef and training there were certain characters that are your 'everything' and you look up to them. You read every word of their books and then when life doesn't work out like that it's a bit disappointing."

Rebecca performs I Hope live in the studio before joining Graham for a chat about her new album.

Notes

Jessie J was originally booked to perform on this episode.

Broadcast details

Date
Friday 13th December 2013
Time
10:35pm
Channel
BBC One
Length
50 minutes

Cast & crew

Cast
Graham Norton Host / Presenter
Guest cast
Rebecca Ferguson Guest
Martin Freeman Guest
Ben Stiller Guest
Jamie Oliver Guest
Writing team
Rob Colley Writer
Dan Gaster Writer
Production team
Steve Smith Director
Jon Magnusson Series Producer
Rina Dayalji Producer
Pete Snell Producer
Alan Thorpe Producer
Graham Stuart Executive Producer
Catherine Strauss Line Producer
Perry Widdowson Editor
Chris Webster Production Designer
Lindsey McLean Costume Designer
Mandy Furlonger Make-up Designer
Oli Richards Lighting Designer
Jonathan Whitehead (as Trellis) Composer
Kerry Hussain Graphics

Videos

Martin Freeman is compared to a hedgehog

Graham reminds us of Benedict Cumberbatch looking like an otter and then compares Martin to a hedgehog.

Featuring: Graham Norton, Martin Freeman, Jamie Oliver & Ben Stiller.

Ben Stiller talks about Zoolander

Graham chats with Ben about Zoolander and Blue Steel.

Featuring: Graham Norton & Ben Stiller.

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