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 29 - Claire Foy, Peter Dinklage, Michael Sheen, Cush Jumbo, Joe Lycett, Jessica Chastain, The Divine Comedy

Jessica Chastain says Diane Kruger kicked her ass, Claire Foy jokes about her taste in projects, Peter Dinklage admits Game Of Thrones was hard to walk away from, Michael Sheen reveals how he spent NYE alone, Cush Jumbo says boxer shorts helped channel Hamlet, and Joe Lycett takes issue with Game Of Thrones, while The Divine Comedy performs live in the studio.

Further details

Jessica Chastain joins Graham from the US to talk about starring in and producing the long-awaited female spy film The 355.

Asked about the film finally being released, she says, "We made it so long ago, but the good thing is that we made it outside the system - it is independently financed. The actors raised the money, so we are all like the bosses, which makes it exciting."

Recalling a fight scene with Diane Kruger, she says, "She completely kicked my ass, I totally underestimated her as an opponent. It was exhausting and I was so sore - thank god we were not actually hitting each other!"

Talking about the amazing facial transformation she underwent for her role in The Eyes Of Tammy Faye, Jessica says, "It took seven hours, and I actually wore compression socks because I was sitting in the makeup chair for so long. I was completely exhausted by the time I got on set!"

Claire Foy, talking about her new quirky biopic The Electrical Life Of Louis Wain, says, "It is a beautiful, beautiful film, but I didn't want to be in it at all because it was a period film about a man. I've got terrible taste and it turns out every single job I have ever done, I've gone, 'That's going to be awful,' and some of them have been really good! I'm really glad I didn't go with my instinct on this one as it's really good; so whimsical, and beautiful."

Asked if she and her co-star Benedict Cumberbatch enjoyed working with the cats, she says, "I loved the cats, but Benedict now has a pathological hatred of working with them - they are very high maintenance, and they were more important than him!"

Peter Dinklage, talking about playing Cyrano de Bergerac in his new film, and asked if he has always wanted to play a romantic lead, he says, "Who hasn't? As performers we are all hopeless romantics. I've played my fair share of fun supporting characters; bad guys, and crazy people, but as the romantic lead you get to tell the whole story rather than just show up for certain scenes."

Talking about getting to swashbuckle, he says, "I really enjoyed it. You feel like you got something done during the day. Acting can be so abstract but with sword fighting you actually feel like you've been to the gym and its job well done."

Asked if, after 10 years, it was a relief when Game Of Thrones finally came to an end, he says, "Yes. It was time to move on, as hard as it was. We normally go off for a couple of months and have great friendship and you don't see each other again, but this was a family - I lived in Ireland, so for me it wasn't just the show, it was a life, which was the hardest thing to walk away from."

Joe Lycett, interjects "I am a big fan of the series and watched the whole lot. The only issue I have with it is when they put in cameos - Ed Sheeran mainly! I love Ed Sheeran, I love Game Of Thrones, I didn't love the venn diagram where they crossed over. It took me out of it. If you're going to put them in do it properly and kill them, really kill them. I wanted him singing Shape of You while Peter is going at him with an axe!"

Peter says, "I think it was because we just wanted rock stars around - a lot of those deals were probably done at the pub and then when they actually turned up it was like, 'Oh no, now we have to write a scene for them!'"

Michael Sheen, talking about New Year's Eve, says, "I had always done youth theatre so from the age of 13 I was there every New Year's Eve. When I was about 20 it came to the evening, and I didn't know what to do so went back to celebrate with everyone but when it got to ten to midnight, they asked me to leave because I wasn't on the course. So, I spent New Year's Eve walking along the M4 motorway trying to get home!"

Asked about his new film Last Train To Christmas, he says, "I have always wanted to do a time travel film and I love trains, so it ticks all the boxes! I get to play millions of versions of myself - I actually lost count."

Cush Jumbo, asked if she had to learn to pole dance for her role in Harlan Coben's drama Stay Close, says, "I didn't have to and I did have the choice to have a double to do all the physical action, but I'm an all or nothing sort of person, so I learnt to do it. It's much harder than it looks, but once you get it, it's completely addictive."

Talking about playing Hamlet, she says, "I bloody loved it. My child was six months old, and I think I was hormonal when I agreed to do it. By the time I got to do it he was old enough to take on stage. It was amazing, I loved it."

Revealing how she got into the male character, she says, "I had a long time to think about it and for the rehearsals I borrowed a lot of my husband's trousers and boxer shorts. I didn't wear ladies' knickers for months which was really helpful!"

Joe, talking about his upcoming UK tour More, More, More, says: "This show is a kind of a love letter to my local area of Birmingham, my house, and garden. I am always inappropriate about my garden, and rude to my plants, but people seem to love it, so much so that Gardeners World did an interview with me!"

The Divine Comedy perform their classic Something for the Weekend live in the studio before Neil joins Graham for a chat.

Talking about the 25-year-old song, he says, "It's still enjoyable to sing, because the story of it is very weird. I grabbed the title from Cold Comfort Farm and then went on a tangent. Writing a song is different every time but flights of fancy are a big part of it."

Talking about writing the songs for the new Willy Wonka film, he says, "Basically I have been writing about chocolate for a year," adding, "I have ambitions in all directions. Just doing pop music for the rest of your life just looks kind of silly as you get older. If you ask me, I will do it."

Broadcast details

Date
Friday 31st December 2021
Time
10:20pm
Channel
BBC One
Length
65 minutes

Cast & crew

Cast
Graham Norton Host / Presenter
Guest cast
Michael Sheen Guest
Jessica Chastain Guest
Claire Foy Guest
Joe Lycett Guest
Cush Jumbo Guest
Peter Dinklage Guest
Neil Hannon (as The Divine Comedy) Guest
Writing team
Rob Colley Writer
Production team
Toby Baker Director
Jon Magnusson Series Producer
Pete Snell Producer
Graham Stuart Executive Producer
Catherine Strauss Line Producer
Perry Widdowson Editor
Chris Webster Production Designer
Mandy Furlonger Make-up Designer
Chris Rigby Lighting Designer
Jonathan Whitehead (as Trellis) Composer
Kerry Hussain Graphics

Videos

Peter Dinklage was relieved when Game Of Thrones ended

Peter Dinklage looks back on what he misses most from working on Game Of Thrones.

Featuring: Graham Norton & Peter Dinklage.

Joe Lycett took a girl to Paul Chuckle's villa in Greece

Joe Lycett took a girl to Paul Chuckle's villa in Greece where he desperately wanted to say "To Me To You".

Featuring: Graham Norton & Joe Lycett.

Hummer is NSFW

Michael Sheen and Cush Jumbo find out that the US has a word for a specific sex act.

Featuring: Graham Norton, Michael Sheen & Cush Jumbo.

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