In a sentenceFamous people talking about themselves, with Graham Norton doing the work of making that sound like a promising evening
Graham Norton hosts The Graham Norton Show, a comedy chat programme in which guests appear as themselves. Samantha Morton, Julian McMahon and Jenny Eclair are among those taking part across the series, alongside Louis Walsh, Ioan Gruffudd and Julia Sawalha. The conversations are led by Norton, whose relaxed approach encourages guests to talk without being put on the defensive. Episodes run for 49 minutes, with the emphasis on talk and humour. The guest list also includes Barbara Windsor, MIKA and Jason Donovan, all appearing under their own names.
Graham Norton makes a welcoming host, clever enough to encourage guests without making them regret it. We recommend the easy company, with one caveat: a conversation this comfortable offers limited room for friction.
We recommend The Graham Norton Show for its host’s skill at putting guests at ease, though the comfort can limit the conversation. Graham Norton treats the people he interviews as people worth listening to. That sounds a modest ambition until we consider how quickly an interview can become a contest over who gets the laugh. He is clever enough to keep things moving without requiring someone else to lose.
No guest list can do the host’s work for him. The series includes Samantha Morton, Julian McMahon and Jenny Eclair, but recognition is only the beginning of the pleasure. Norton makes it possible to enjoy somebody’s company without arriving as an admirer, because his interest in the person is easy to follow. We can enjoy a host being quick without wanting every guest to prove equally quick, and he understands the distinction.
We relaxed in Norton’s company. His way of encouraging guests to speak freely removes the small dread that an interview is about to become an exercise in embarrassment. He gives people good reason to keep talking, which is useful comic technique as well as good manners. That trust matters: once we stop worrying about someone being made to look foolish, we can pay attention to what they are saying.
Directors Toby Baker and Steve Smith, and editors Perry Widdowson and Jon Magnusson, serve a format that depends on leaving the host room to listen. Their work is effective in allowing the conversation to feel easy, with little sense that each exchange has to justify itself immediately. We notice Norton’s handling of people before we notice the programme being assembled, which is the right priority here. Rob Colley is credited as a writer, a useful reminder that ease on television can take preparation. At 49 minutes, it makes a manageable claim on an evening.
The limitation is how much depends on finding that ease pleasurable. We sometimes want a question to disturb the agreeable mood a little, even at the risk of making the company less comfortable. Norton’s tact is valuable, but the comfortable atmosphere makes a probing interview feel unlikely. That matters when we want an interview to challenge our view of its subject. It need not spoil an evening when we want to laugh.
Judged as comedy and talk, the programme succeeds at something television can make unnecessarily complicated: taking an interest in somebody else. We do not need every guest to be fascinating for a host to make the meeting worthwhile. Norton understands how to keep curiosity friendly, and his ease never quite feels like indifference. We would choose it for an undemanding evening, with no expectation that every conversation will stay with us afterwards. Save the search for uncomfortable answers for another programme.
McLean argues that The Graham Norton Show is the best chat show on British television. He praises Norton’s relaxed, clever way of drawing out guests while keeping their trust.
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The Dick Cavett Show · not reviewed yetFor conversation that can stay playful while asking rather more awkward questions.
The Larry Sanders ShowFor the vanity and anxiety politely kept outside the chat itself.
My Dinner with Andre · not reviewed yetFor an evening when two people talking are quite enough entertainment.
The Trip · not reviewed yetFor comic company whose conversational competition is much harder to hide.
The LunchboxFor a quieter evening built around humour, patience and growing affection.
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