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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Episode menu

Series 30 - Olivia Colman, Micheal Ward, Hugh Laurie, Romesh Ranganathan, Leah Williamson, Callum Scott Howells, Madeline Brewer

Olivia Colman talks about sex scenes with a younger man, Micheal Ward pays tribute to Olivia, Hugh Laurie says he's very proud of his latest film, Romesh Ranganathan jokes about working with Katherine Ryan, Leah Williamson says she re-lives England's win over and over, and Cabaret stars Callum Scott Howells and Madeline Brewer perform live in the studio.

Further details

Olivia Colman and Micheal Ward chat about starring together in Sam Mendes' powerful romantic drama Empire Of Light.

Asked if her role was written specially for her, Olivia says, "Apparently it was. But Sam is so nice he would say that anyway. He was watching The Crown at the time and thought of me. We had a Zoom conversation during lockdown and I said 'okay, yes' before I even knew what it was. It is an incredible accolade for him to write something for me." Adding jokingly, "It was an amazing part thank god - can you imagine if it had been rubbish!"

Michael, talking about working with Olivia, says, "It was an amazing experience. It was incredible just to share the same space. I learnt so much about being a real person - everyone had a real sense of humanity. If Olivia had been rude I might have thought that's how I need to be to reach a certain level of success but the fact she is so lovely showed me I can be a good person and still be successful."

Talking about their age difference, and asked if they were aware of it on screen, Olivia says, "There was one particular moment when I was astride Micheal in a compromising and slightly embarrassing situation and he said, 'It's my mum's birthday today.' When he said she was 43, I was like, 'Okay, stop talking!'"

Hugh Laurie, talking about his new film The Amazing Maurice, says: "I loved doing it and the animation is astounding - it is terrific and I look really handsome as a cat! The film is a lot of fun and utterly charming. I am very proud of it."

Talking about the long awaited second series of Avenue 5 and asked if his character's accent (British pretending to be American) was a challenge, he says, "It actually gives you a bit of an escape route. If you mess something up and it doesn't sound right you've always got an excuse of a deliberate mistake. I found it easier than doing House, which just had to be right."

Asked about his son, who he describes as "A proper grown up doctor," and whether his choice of career was influenced by Hugh being House, he says, "No, I think he had to muscle through in spite of being teased by other medical students. I am very, very proud of him. I am the son of a doctor and also the father of a doctor so I am sort of the slice of ham between them!"

Romesh Ranganathan, talking about his new stand-up special The Cynic, says: "Most Netflix specials are done at the Apollo, so I thought it would be funny to do it at my local theatre in Crawley, which looks like a leisure centre!"

Asked about his new series Romantic Getaway, he says, "I've written sitcoms that are very gentle with funny scenarios, but I've never written something that is so driven by plot - you want it to be funny but you also want to drive this twisty story. It was amazing." Adding jokingly, "Despite playing a couple, Katherine [Ryan], who is a really good mate of mine made it clear from the very beginning that there would be no touching - she was adamant. In fact I think it was a deal breaker for her!"

Leah Williamson joins Graham for a chat. Asked what sort of pep talk she gave the team before their Euros win, she said, "I just played music throughout - so I let that do the talking. I might have said something like, 'Come on girls.' It was low key because everyone was ready. We had given our lives for that one moment so why wouldn't we go out and enjoy it."

Talking about winning, she says, "It was everything I hoped it would be and more. I hope I never lose that feeling. I re-live it over and over."

Callum Scott Howells and Madeline Brewer perform Willkommen and Don't Tell Mama from the hit West End revival of Cabaret, before joining Graham for a chat.

Broadcast details

Date
Saturday 31st December 2022
Time
10:25pm
Channel
BBC One
Length
65 minutes

Repeats

Show past repeats

Date Time Channel
Sunday 1st January 2023 12:30am BBC1 Scot
Tuesday 3rd January 2023 12:45am BBC1

Cast & crew

Cast
Graham Norton Host / Presenter
Guest cast
Hugh Laurie Guest
Olivia Colman Guest
Romesh Ranganathan Guest
Micheal Ward Guest
Leah Williamson Guest
Callum Scott Howells Guest
Madeline Brewer Guest

Videos

Romesh Ranganathan's resolution is to see his mum less

Romesh Ranganathan talks about how his mother has been slyly taking advantage of him.

Featuring: Graham Norton & Romesh Ranganathan.

Leah Williamson played ABBA to inspire the England team

Leah Williamson talks about how she managed to get her team in the right mindset to win.

Featuring: Graham Norton & Leah Williamson.

Olivia Colman has a stamp from The Crown

Olivia Colman talks about where she keeps her Oscar, and what she was given from The Crown.

Featuring: Graham Norton & Olivia Colman.

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