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
  • 494 episodes (31 series)

Comic chat show presented by Graham Norton. The biggest names in showbiz join the host on his sofa.

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Series 26 - Henry Cavill, Ruth Jones, Rob Brydon, Daisy Ridley, Robbie Williams

Henry Cavill talks about doing his own stunts; Ruth Jones says she feels very empowered by Nessa; Rob Brydon says the new Gavin & Stacey is the happiest job he has ever done; Daisy Ridley reveals how emotional the last day of filming Star Wars was; and Robbie Williams performs live in the studio.

Preview clips

Further details

Henry Cavill, talking about his new film The Witcher, and asked about doing his own stunts, he says, "I do every single stunt myself. I have a lot of respect for the stunt performers and their craft, but if there was an emotional scene I wouldn't ask another actor to come in a cry for me. For me, it is really important that the character exists in the action, so if I am going to take on a role like The Witcher I am going to make sure I can do all the stuff he can do. Every move that the character makes is part of the storytelling."

Asked about working with Tom Cruise, who famously does all his very dangerous own stunts, Henry says, "When we worked on Mission Impossible one stunt I really wanted to do was the high altitude jump at the beginning of the film. I begged to do it, but Tom said, 'We would love you to do it, but I am up there with the professionals and if I get anything even slightly wrong, they can correct it. If there are two of us up there and something goes wrong, you'll kill everyone!' And I was like, 'Okay!'"

Talking about being spotted when he is out and about, he says, "It happens all the time. I haven't seen this man ever, but he does a Lois Lane impression when I am walking my dog in the park and he screams at the top of his voice, 'Help me! Save me Superman, save me!' I've still not seen him, and he's done it 25 times. It's annoying, but quite funny and it's tough not to smile."

Ruth Jones, talking about the return of Gavin & Stacey 10 years after the last episode, says, "It's crazy that it's been so long."

Rob Brydon interjects, "Getting everyone together was amazing. I was sure it wouldn't happen because there was literally a two-week window. But we did and it was so lovely and so emotional. I'd seen pretty much everyone over the years, but not all together. It was the happiest job I have ever done."

Asked about what happens in the new show, Ruth says, "We were keen to keep the warmth that was always there. You think about some spectacular story lines and we toyed with the idea of Gavin having an affair or Gavin and Stacy divorcing, but we really wanted to hold on to the heart of the original show and I hope we've done it," Adding, "We had to keep it a secret for such a long time so the joy of being able to announce it was incredible."

Talking about the love she has for Nessa, she says, "I feel very empowered when I am her because she doesn't care, she is very confident, she wears clothes I would never ever wear, and she is quite masculine - a very alpha female. As Nessa I can be as rude as I like!"

Daisy Ridley joins Graham for a chat about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the final instalment of the long running franchise.

Asked what happens in the latest movie, she says, "It's fair to say it's my character's story and it ties everything together. All I can tell you is that it is basically all we love about Star Wars - good versus evil, love and finding the people you choose to be your family. There are lots of laughs and lots of tears." Adding, "It's insane that they've managed to finish off all nine films."

Talking about the last ever day of filming she says, "It really felt like the end and you felt it on the set. The last day was horribly emotional. I can't remember a word of what I said in my speech because I was crying so much. It was terrible. Even JJ [Abrams] said, 'That was embarrassing!'"

Ruth and Rob re-enact a Star Wars scene between Luke and Princess Leia as Nessa and Bryn.

Robbie Williams performs Fairy Tales live in the studio before joining Graham for a chat about his new number one album. Talking about the success of his career, he says, "It's the equivalent of stretching an elastic band from Stoke to Venus! I don't know how it happened; it's bewildering. Your lifespan as a pop star is supposed to fizzle out when you're about 32 and to be 45 and still doing it and still being relevant, it feels more special than it has ever felt in the whole of my career."

Asked if he has always been a Christmas fan, he says, "I was more of a New Year's Eve fan! When I was a kid, I loved Christmas, then when I was a teenager it was sort of euphoric and amazing and then I did too much of that and had to stop doing that. Then you were sort of left with all the blanks. You're meant to be happy at Christmas and I wasn't. Then I met my wife and she's like a professional memory maker and I've been taken on this tidal wave of incredible memories that she creates. Now we've got three kids and I absolutely love it again. It's my favourite time of year."

Notes

John Boyega was originally billed to appear.

Broadcast details

Date
Friday 20th December 2019
Time
10:35pm
Channel
BBC One
Length
50 minutes

Repeats

Show past repeats

Date Time Channel
Tuesday 24th December 2019 12:20am BBC1
Tuesday 24th December 2019 12:50am BBC1 Scot

Cast & crew

Cast
Graham Norton Host / Presenter
Guest cast
Rob Brydon Guest
Ruth Jones Guest
Robbie Williams Guest
Henry Cavill Guest
Daisy Ridley Guest
Writing team
Rob Colley Writer
Christine Rose Writer
Production team
Steve Smith 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

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