Hollywood comes to Graham Norton's sofa as Matthew McConaughey - Golden Globe-winning star of the Oscar-nominated Dallas Buyers Club - joins Julianne Moore, whose new action thriller, Non-Stop, touches down in Britain at the end of next month. There's also a US vibe to the music with Sheryl Crow, while keeping the Union flag flying is Alan Davies, whose comedy career takes a quite interesting sporty turn this time next week when he hosts a Winter Olympics chatty guest show.

Radio Times review

It's not long ago that Matthew McConaughey had become a byword for lightweight romantic comedies and going shirtless at every opportunity. But the role that recently won him a Golden Globe was lightweight in the literal sense: McConaughey shed three stone to play a rodeo cowboy dying of AIDS in The Dallas Buyer's Club.

The award put the icing on a remarkable return to the Hollywood A-list and tonight he discusses his comeback with Graham Norton while Alan Davies provides comedy cover and Sheryl Crow provides music.

They'll be rolling out the red carpet tonight as a stellar cast of talent drop by for a chat. Michael Fassbender talks about his role in 12 Years A Slave, Idris Elba reflects on stepping into the shoes of a legend in Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom and there's a chance to get the inside track on punchy comedy drama Girls from US actor/writer Lena Dunham. Completing one of Graham Norton's most diverting line-ups are national treasure Olivia Colman and rockers Keane.

It's been another winning year for Graham Norton - great guests (his New Year's Eve line-up this year was extraordinary) and great audience figures. Even if you saw every episode of the most recent series these best-bit compilations are always worth a look. So prepare to relive the good and the bad.

The good include Lady Gaga forging an unlikely, instant friendship with EastEnders' Dot Cotton, June Brown; the two Doctors Matt Smith and David Tennant taking fan questions; and Paul McCartney talking about his collaboration with Michael Jackson. And the bad? Michelle Pfeiffer and a very unforthcoming Robert De Niro looking bored and baffled as Cher and Jennifer Saunders stole the show. And Harrison Ford seemingly very unimpressed by Jack Whitehall.

Graham Norton pulls in 4.7m for New Year special

The Graham Norton Show pulled in 4.76 million viewers and 26.6% of the audience share for its New Year special at 10.15pm last night (December 31), according to overnight data.

It's the night when TV's big guns mount a barrage of merriment to blast us over the finishing line of 2013. Point your remote pretty much anywhere and a party mood is guaranteed - without the need for an actual party. Graham Norton hosts more stars than can possibly fit on his couch, including the entire Monty Python team, the stars of Anchorman 2, sisters Joan and Jackie Collins, and Michael Bublé. There really is no excuse for letting the fizz in your glass go flat.

Don't tell Wossy (or Graham Norton, for that matter), but chat shows make the perfect accompaniment to late-night wrapping. If only this show aired before Christmas Day, then you could have watched the guests you like, and concentrated on the tricky shapes during the ones you don't.

Tonight's guests are John Bishop, whose autobiography you might have been wrapping, Jamie Oliver, whose gravy you might currently be digesting, and Ray Winstone, whose appearance in Sky's family drama Moonfleet you may squint at tonight, wondering why he's not swearing while hitting someone in the face.

Sir David Attenborough completes the Christmas line-up, and hopefully he'll be asked about his most offbeat hit, Tweet of the Day, which over Christmas will briefly flood Radio 4's Today Programme with glorious birdsong.

Miranda Hart interviews Graham Norton

Miranda Hart turns the spotlight on our agony uncle Graham Norton to talk work, onesies and national-treasurehood.

Or rather the British TV Comedy Awards, where sitcoms and panel shows are championed rather than pure standups - fair enough, as this talent tends to lose out at the Baftas and elsewhere. With its unsentimental yet uncynical take on the news review, The Last Leg could well edge out Alan Carr and Graham Norton's efforts in the entertainment programme category; hospital sitcom Getting On has also done well with three noms, while many will be rooting for kids' hit Horrible Histories to be named best sketch show. Jonathan Ross hosts.

You could make a case that TV comedy is having a bit of a moment right now. Go back a few years and there was a dearth of fresh sitcoms and most panel games felt tired. Now we have fizzingly funny scripted shows from Fresh Meat to Man Down. Meanwhile, Would I Lie to You? has evolved into the perfect panel game (though A League of Their Own runs it a raucous second). Graham Norton and Alan Carr cross wits for the chatshow crown. And RT's own Sarah Millican has devised a blend of stand-up and chat that works like a dream.

This and much more is likely to be up for celebration by Jonathan Ross and the assembled, well-refreshed comedy gods. Nominations were under wraps as we went to press, so we can only hope BBC2's Count Arthur Strong gets the recognition from his peers he didn't get in the ratings and that other minority tastes like Peep Show and Getting On have their moments in the sun. But whoever wins the prizes, any ceremony populated by drunken comics is bound to be a blast.