The Graham Norton Show

Rules banning Norton's Aids ribbon are contradictory

Why is public support of an Aids charity bad and yet presenters can be disciplined for refusing to wear a Remembrance Day poppy?

Chat shows can sometimes throw up guest lists that read like a particularly demented dinner party and that's certainly the case with Mr Norton tonight as Hollywood hell-raiser Colin Farrell, Top Gear motormouth Jeremy Clarkson, X Factor matriarch Sharon Osbourne and comedian Jo Brand find themselves parked next to each other on the sofa. At least we get a rare chance to sample the live delights of chart-topping Arcade Fire on terrestrial TV.

You may have noticed there's been lot of stuff on TV about a certain Time Lord recently (and the fuss will continue when our special Doctor Who supplement is published next week). So it's appropriate that on Norton's sofa tonight is not one but two of the actors who've played the role: David Tennant and Matt Smith. As Steven Moffat told us that the pair "got on like a couple of old women" when they filmed the anniversary special, we should be in for a real laugh. Trying to get a word in edgeways is Emma Thompson (soon to be seen in Saving Mr Banks) and Robbie Williams.

Only Graham Norton could ever come up with such an eclectic range of guests - global megastar Lady Gaga, actor Jude Law, comedian Greg Davies and EastEnders' Dot Branning (or rather the actress who plays her, June Brown). Who will flirt with whom, we wonder?

Lady Gaga was on the show back in 2011, dressed in an extraordinary Bride of Frankenstein-type outfit. She was last spotted in a fur mask with a gold beak on a tour to promote her new album. Tabloid favourite Law talks about his new gangster film Dom Hemingway, Davies's current sitcom Man Down (9.30pm C4) is winning him laughs and acclaim, while Brown discusses her autobiography.

Graham Norton reveals secrets of 'chat choreography'

Graham Norton's biggest fear is pain. When I suggest this may be linked to the time when, still at drama school, he was brutally mugged, he offers a surprising answer.

You might have read that Jay-Z would be one of Graham's guests tonight, but he's dropped out and his spot has been taken by Jeremy Paxman, or Jay-P as we should maybe start calling him.

Trust me, you'll scarcely notice the difference. But could Jay-Z host tonight's very special round of University Challenge?

I think not.

Graham's other guests are Dame Judi Dench, comedian John Bishop and Sir Elton John, who will be performing his new single Voyeur as well chatting about his burst appendix, the joys of fatherhood and dancing with the Queen. A typical day in Elton-land.

While Jonathan Ross had to content himself interviewing stars of an ITV show last Saturday (the X Factor judges), Norton once again lures some global, glittery names on to his sofa.

His old mate, the indefatigable Sir Elton John, will perform Voyeur and be interviewed fresh from the triumphant release of his well-received 31st studio album, The Diving Board. He'll be joined by the mighty Dame Judi Dench, whose name is already being mentioned in the same breath as "Oscar nomination" for her role in the new film Philomena, as an Irish mother searching for the child she was forced to give up for adoption. Ever reliable John Bishop will be in the comedy corner.

Graham Norton interview

After stints as a comedian and as an actor in Father Ted, Graham Norton found his forte as a chat show host.

Hollywood glamour descends on Norton's soft furnishings as Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer chat about playing ex-mafiosos living under witness protection in The Family, Luc Besson's new gangster romp set in France.

Swooping in to join the happy throng are Cher, giving us a taste of new album Closer To The Truth, and home-grown comedy heroine Jennifer Saunders, who's just jotted down her life in a book - Bonkers: My Life In Laughs.

The Graham Norton Show has real A-list quality tonight

Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Cher and Jennifer Saunders make for a vintage line-up on the BBC One chat show.