Graham Norton says 'eh, no' to presenting The Late Late Show
Ryan Tubridy with Graham Norton on 'The Late Late Show' last year. The Cork-born comedian, broadcaster, and novelist told Brendan O'Connor that presenting the RTÉ chat show would be 'such a hard gig'. Picture: Andres Poveda
Graham Norton has given a firm “eh, no” to presenting The Late Late Show, making it clear that the celebrated TV personality and author would find presenting RTÉ’s flagship show “so hard”.
When asked by radio host Brendan O’Connor if he would be tempted to return to Ireland to host the Late Late after current host Ryan Tubridy steps down, Norton responded: “Eh, no.”
“That job is so hard. That job is such a hard gig,” he said.
“I just chip away at a very silly bit of show business and I just talk to actors, musicians. The Late Late Show, you have to cover so much stuff. You have to be across so many things and the changes of tone and also that show is so long. Being on it is hard work.”
Norton was also asked about married life, almost a year on from when he married Scottish film-maker Jono McLeod at an exclusive event at Bantry House in West Cork.
Married life is “good so far,” he laughed. “We're only a year in.”
The West Cork native was also asked about including an unhappily married gay couple in his new book.
“I liked the idea in Ireland that there were so many gay couples, there was almost like a shotgun wedding thing going on — where people were thinking ‘oh God, now you voted for it, I suppose we'll have to do it’.
"All your friends have been campaigning going from house to house. ‘Thanks for that. Now I have to get married.’”
“So I quite liked that idea and I liked writing them. They made me laugh, that couple.”
Norton was also asked about how he began to return more and more to Ireland in recent years.
“The reason I started coming back more is because my father got ill. My father had Parkinson's and so because of that I was coming back more often.”
“When I left, I was in my 20s and you sort of think your parents are gonna live forever and, you know, 'I'll go and nothing will change'.”
“That was a big wake-up call and then my father died and, when he died, that was such a kind of traumatic time.”
“But the people in Bandon were so good and they made me kind of fall in love with Ireland in a way again.”
“It just sort of reminded me that lots of that small-town stuff that I'd been running away from has benefits as well.”
“It can be really claustrophobic and limiting but also really supportive and lovely, and that was kind of when I fell in love with Ireland again.”
In May, Norton will host the Eurovision Song Contest when it takes place in Liverpool.
He will be taking a leaf out of the late Terry Wogan's book, as he plans to do his running commentary throughout the contest.
"I thought 'I don't want to give up the commentary gig entirely because you know, the chance of someone else being better than me is quite high, and then I'll have lost my gig'," he joked.
"I'm doing most of the commentary and then I think during the voting sequence Mel Giedroyc is going to take over."
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