The Graham Norton Show

Regina King says her directorial debut was an honour, Jimmy Fallon reveals he was once booed in London for being American, Anya Taylor-Joy talks about success, David Mitchell reveals all the delays in making his new show, Mel Giedroyc jokes that some panellists on her new show may have overshared, Olly Alexander says he won't be watching his new series with his mum, and Yungblud performs live in the studio.

Regina King joins Graham from the US for a chat about One Night In Miami and her directorial debut.

Asked about the fictionalised meeting of Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke in a Miami hotel room in the 1960s, she says, "It was a real meeting, but it's a dramatisation of the conversation that might have happened. The performances are so tremendous, you feel like you are a fly on the wall.

"That conversation took place in 1964, but it is still relevant today. I was honoured to be the director, but there was a sadness about how far we haven't come in America."

Revealing that she was actually looking for a romance to direct, she says, "I wanted a romance with a historical background, like a Titanic with a black couple, but what I actually got was a bromance."

Jimmy Fallon joins Graham from The Tonight Show studio for a chat. Talking about the legacy of the show, he says, "It's an institution here and has probably been on air for 66 years. It's something I never thought could be a job, I thought it was something that came with your TV set!"

Asked about his first ever guest, Robert DeNiro, he says, "He is the best and I love him, but he isn't a big talker. He wanted to know what we were going to talk about so I sent him 10 questions and he came back with 'What else have you got?' I emailed more and more and was running out of ideas. When I said, I'll think of more before the show, he said, 'I'm just messing with you!' He came on and I was sweating because I was asking questions and he was giving one-word answers. I was babbling by the end."

Revealing he gave one of his very early stand-up gigs in London, he says, "It was 1995 and I was there for a week on holiday. I went to The Comedy Store and asked to do a routine - at the time I was doing troll doll impersonations. I turned up at midnight and I was so excited, but the crowd was a bit rough and when I was introduced as being from America they just booed and booed before I had even said my name. I just thought, 'Oh my gosh.' I was so nervous and was shaking, but it was one of the best gigs of my life and I almost got a standing ovation!"

Anya Taylor-Joy joins Graham from LA for a chat. Talking about the huge success of The Queen's Gambit, she says, "After quarantining I was still very jetlagged so went for a walk at four in the morning and ended up on Sunset Boulevard and there was a giant billboard of my face. I have never experienced that before in my life and promptly turned around and walked away because it was too much."

Asked why she thinks the series has been so successful, she says, "I think it is a few different things. It is a story of redemption and it's nice to know you can overcome your demons in that way, but also passion is just exciting. When you see how passionate she (Beth) is about chess it just draws you in. And it's really pretty to look at."

Revealing she is a huge fan of Mel Giedroyc, Anja says to her, "Being in Beth's headspace the whole time was quite an intense experience and I had never seen Bake Off before, so I clung to it for the whole time - I watched it from the very beginning, so you were right there with me the whole time."

David Mitchell, explaining how the second series of Back, in which he stars with Robert Webb, was fraught with problems, he says, "It started filming quite late anyway because the writer was so busy, then the insurance medical diagnosed Robert with a rather serious heart condition so everything stopped while he had open heart surgery, he then had to recover, and then came the small issue of a global pandemic!

"It's now going to be on television but as so many things have gone wrong, I wouldn't be surprised if on the 20th January it is announced 'TV spreads COVID - it's going to be radio from here on in!'"

Because of the delays in filming, David reveals: "I shot this series at three very distinct weight levels. When we started, I was at the plumper end of my usual range, then when we came back, I had been in a play in the West End and was thin, and then I was somewhere in between. There are actual scenes that cut away and then cut back and I have put on a stone! It is very noticeable to me, hopefully not to viewers."

Mel Giedroyc, talking about her new panel show Unforgivable, says, "We have an amazing array of people who are all surprisingly open in telling quite scurrilous stories about themselves. It was fascinating and I had the feeling they didn't quite know what the show was because we did get some rather bad stuff out of people. I think they were so pleased to be out of lockdown and among people that they overshared!"

Asked about introducing her children to the world of entertainment, she says, "When they were quite young, I took them to the Edinburgh Festival. I thought a 2pm Italian dance show would be enriching and different for them. It turned out to be a disgustingly graphic show about the Italian porn industry! I tried to get them out but there was never a blackout long enough. They still remember every detail!"

Olly Alexander, talking about his new TV series It's A Sin, and asked if he could relate to gay life in the 1980s, says, "As a young gay man I was scared of AIDS because we were not allowed to talk about being gay at school. The series has given me a lot of understanding of what that period was like, it's legacy, and a lot of context as to who I am. It has been really interesting."

Asked if his mum has watched the series, he says, "She's not seen any yet and I won't be watching it with her, I can't. I've warned her that there are some very intimate moments."

Yungblud performs Cotton Candy live in the studio before joining Graham for a chat. Asked about his album reaching number one, Dom says: "My mum bought the Alfie Boe and Michael Ball album the week we were competing. When I asked her why, she said, 'I didn't think it would count!'"

Talking about the first lockdown, he says, "I was stuck in America and David Mitchell saved my life. I binged on Peep Show and the Hobnob biscuits sent from my mum." David interjects, "I'm glad I could help destroy the Hollywood vibe!"

And finally, Graham pulls the lever on Mel who volunteers to sit in the Big Red Chair on behalf of audience members telling their funniest stories from the comfort of their own home.