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.

F
X
R
W
E

Episode menu

Series 30, Episode 1 - Eric Idle, Jamie Lee Curtis, David Tennant, Lydia West, Robbie Williams

Together again on Graham's big red sofa (yes, it's back): Hollywood scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis, taking on Michael Myers for the final time in Halloween Ends; Monty Python star and comedy icon Eric Idle talking frankly about his recent battle with cancer; Scottish great David Tennant, on the West End stage in political classic Good; star of the acclaimed drama It's A Sin: Lydia West, talking about new BBC drama thriller Inside Man; and pop superstar Robbie Williams, who chats and performs his current single Lost.

Further details

Jamie Lee Curtis, talking about her new movie Halloween Ends, says, "It is emotional saying goodbye to Laurie Strode. I've been playing her for 44 years. That's two thirds of my life so it's very weird. The first movie changed my life 100 percent and every dot of goodness in my life came from Halloween."

Despite starring in so many horror films, Jamie reveals her dislike of the genre, "I don't like watching them. I don't know why anyone likes watching them, but I'm grateful they do." Adding, "They screened it for me in an empty movie theatre and I had the volume control. As soon as the scary music started I'd turn down it right down."

Talking about Everything Everywhere All At Once, Jamie says, "It is the craziest movie you have ever seen in your life. It is weird, but so good, so unexpectedly good." And asked about the Oscar buzz surrounding it she says, "The whole Oscar race is a bizarre world but for me to be in that movie and for that movie to be talked about at that level is so moving and beautiful and I am like, 'if you don't take that shot you are not in the game,' so for me it's, 'Let's go get it, I'm all in.'"

Lydia West, talking about the extraordinary success of It's A Sin, says "It was crazy. We hoped people would watch it but kind of didn't believe they would and then we were dealing with a mass audience. It was amazing."

Asked about BBC drama Inside Man, which also stars David, and working with Stanley Tucci she says, "Every day on set with him was so nice. He was great and every Friday he would make his signature martini. I didn't know about the whole Stanley Tucci lockdown mixology thing and when I told my friends were like, 'You had a Stanley martini?'"

David Tennant, talking about his new West End play Good[/i[, says "It's about an ordinary man trying to do the right thing in 1930s Germany just as the world around him is shifting. Every day in rehearsal it was interesting to think, 'What would I do in those circumstances, how would any of us be.' The play is challenging but fantastically written."

Asked if he enjoys being on stage, he say, "It's torture! It's terrifying and I think, 'Why am I doing this to myself?' Of course it will be fine but it's like jumping out of an plane, which is very thrilling of course."

Asked if he has any rituals before going on stage, he says, "I am quite anti superstition, but because you have no control over a live performance and anything could go wrong I do start developing rituals - but I don't know what they will be until they happen and they are different every time." Adding jokingly, "They might be anything that gets me up and out of the foetal position!"

Eric Idle joins Graham for a chat about surviving pancreatic cancer.

Asked how he feels about life now, he says, "I am definitely more grateful, grateful to be alive. I am very fortunate and hopefully I can do a bit of good by raising money for research."

Talking about revealing it on the US series of [i]The Masked Singer, he says, "I thought I could raise awareness." And on his performance, he says, "I asked Paul McCartney if I could sing Love Me Do. He said, 'Yes of course you can,' then joked, "Do let me know me when it airs so I can be sure to miss it!'"

Robbie Williams performs his new single Lost live in the studio before joining Graham for a chat.

Talking about his new album, which celebrates 25 of his hits, he jokes, "It's just Angels 25 times." Asked about his great (naked) physique on the album cover, he says, "My weight yoyos so I thought it would be nice to have evidence that I once looked like that!" Adding, "I loved the idea of the Rodin style pose but I didn't take into account that I would have to be naked in front of 30 strangers."

Revealing that he isn't instantly recognisable in America, he says, "I was in a gay club in LA and was dancing hard - going at it loads like it was 1990s Manchester and this guy came up to me and said, 'You are an inspiration.' And I thought, 'It's great that men of certain age in America know who I am. Then he added, 'At your age it's great to see you dancing like that!'"

Talking about his upcoming biopic Better Man, and asked if he was involved in casting the other band members, he says, "Not as much as I'd liked to have been. They cast young handsome men instead!"

Notes

Rami Malek was originally billed to appear on this episode.

Broadcast details

Date
Friday 30th September 2022
Time
10:40pm
Channel
BBC One
Length
60 minutes

Cast & crew

Cast
Graham Norton Host / Presenter
Guest cast
David Tennant Guest
Eric Idle Guest
Robbie Williams Guest
Jamie Lee Curtis Guest
Lydia West 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
Lesley Hamon Make-up Designer
Chris Rigby Lighting Designer
Jonathan Whitehead (as Trellis) Composer
Kerry Hussain Graphics

Videos

Jamie Lee Curtis on Halloween Ends

Jamie Lee Curtis got to see Halloween Ends but the studio made sure she wouldn't pirate her own film!

Featuring: Graham Norton & Jamie Lee Curtis.

Robbie Williams was annoyed at the paparazzi

Robbie Williams talks about being at number one for longer than Elvis. As well as not being recognised in LA.

Featuring: Graham Norton & Robbie Williams.

David Tennant's dad learnt to swear via Billy Connolly

David Tennant remembers how him and his father never swore, unless from a script.

Featuring: Graham Norton & David Tennant.

Share this page