image credit BBC
The 18th series of The Graham Norton Show will be premiering tonight on BBC One in the UK and on October 3rd on BBC America. Alas this is one of the few programs I will miss now that I have jettisoned the repetitive and often irrelevant channel from my life. (Their blog is good, though!)
So in observance of the return of this perennial favorite, I am featuring five of the most memorable moments I can recall from past shows…
David Tennant’s socks: What I enjoy about this clip is the boyish enthusiasm and energy a grown man can summon for such a uncomplicated dilemma. Sometimes simple pleasures are the best, even for a Time Lord.
Miriam Margolyes: Anytime this woman appears on Graham’s couch, I know we’re in for some bawdy stories. The reactions of the the other guests are almost as funny as the anecdotes themselves.
I particularity liked her appearance with Will.i.am as they seemed to warm up to one another rather nicely especially after the shock value of her hilariously indiscreet tales had worn off a bit.
Ghosting: Australian radio personalities Hamish and Andy introduced viewers to the world of competitive ghosting. I found this bit so funny, I started following them on Twitter. Unfortunately I never saw anything quite so amusing from them again…
Accent Masterclass: Jimmy Carr serves as a dialect coach for Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek. I’m sure they’ll fit right in on the Geordie Shore now!
Best Red Chair Moment:I realize I’ve featured this clip at least two or three times on this blog, but for me it’s the perfect combination of entertaining account, spot on delivery and celebrity reaction to the storyteller. If there was a Red Chair Hall of Fame, Aileen from Derry would most certainly be in it!
In recent years I’ve bemoaned the excess of Hollywood A-listers booked on the show and the amount of time Graham spends fawning over Meryl Streep and the like. That being said I still think the format and the tone of Norton’s program is far more entertaining than most chat shows here in the States. Here’s hoping for a new series of transatlantic cooperation and communal laughs from that very loud couch!
Everything I Know about the UK... I Learned from the BBC 
You might not want to know but it was Matt Damon this week, and Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway next week. Surly they’re American A-list enough?
Promoting The Martian and The Intern no doubt..How can the likes of poor Bill Bailey hold up the British end of the couch on his own against the likes of them?