Graham Norton no trouble ‘Holding’ crowd at West Cork Literary Festival

Graham Norton may be the BBC’s third-highest earning presenter, but the welcome he received in Bantry for the West Cork Literary Festival proved that locals still consider him their number one.

“He’s so good to the area; he does so much for charities and is really the most down-to-earth person,” said one audience member as the star took time out from a two-month getaway at his holiday home in nearby Ahakista to take to the stage at the Maritime Hotel.

The table was turned on Norton, 54, who proved himself as voluble a guest as presenter in his interview with RTÉ Book Show presenter Sinéad Gleeson, but although he was speaking at the festival in his capacity as a novelist, audience questions were on everything from whether the star actually blends his own-brand wine, to his favourite celebrity interviews.