Graham Norton facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Graham Norton
Norton in 2022
Born	Graham William Walker (1963-04-04) 4 April 1963 (age 62) Clondalkin, County Dublin, Ireland
Alma mater	Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Occupation	Comedian broadcaster actor writer
Years active	1981–present
Spouse(s)	Jonathan McLeod ​ (m. 2022)​
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Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), known as Graham Norton, is a famous Irish comedian, TV host, actor, and writer. He is well-known for his work on British television.

Graham has won many awards, including five BAFTA TV Awards for his popular chat show, The Graham Norton Show, which started in 2007. He also won the British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance three times for his earlier show, So Graham Norton. People know him for his funny and lively way of presenting.

Before becoming a TV star, Graham started as a stand-up comedian. He became more famous for playing Father Noel Furlong in the TV show Father Ted from 1996 to 1998. He has also hosted radio shows on BBC Radio 2 and Virgin Radio UK. Since 2009, Graham has been the main TV commentator for the Eurovision Song Contest for the BBC. In 2019, he became a judge on the reality show RuPaul's Drag Race UK.

Graham Norton's Early Life and School

Graham William Walker was born on 4 April 1963, in Clondalkin, County Dublin, Ireland. His dad, William "Billy" Walker, worked for Guinness, and his mom was Rhoda Walker. He has an older sister named Paula.

Because of his dad's job, Graham's family moved around Ireland a lot when he was young. They lived in places like Tramore, Waterford, and Kilkenny. They finally settled in Bandon, County Cork, where he grew up.

Graham was raised in a Church of Ireland family. He has shared that he felt a bit different growing up as a Protestant in the mostly Catholic south of Ireland. His dad's family came from County Wicklow, and his mom was from Belfast. Later, he found out his dad's family came from England in 1713.

Graham went to Bandon Grammar School in County Cork. After that, he studied English and French at University College Cork for two years in the 1980s. He didn't finish his studies there. In 2013, the university gave him an honorary degree.

In 1981, Graham appeared on an Irish TV show called Youngline. He was part of a discussion about teenagers going to discos. In 1983, he lived in San Francisco for a year. He stayed in a "Stardance" hippie house and worked as a waiter.

In the late 1980s, Graham moved to London to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama. He worked as a waiter again during this time. When he joined the actors' union, Equity, he chose "Norton" as his stage name. This was his great-grandmother's maiden name, and there was already another actor named Graham Walker.

Graham Norton's Career Journey

Starting Out in TV

In 1992, Graham Norton became known for his stand-up comedy act. He dressed as a tea-towel-clad Mother Teresa of Calcutta at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. This even made the news when a TV channel mistakenly thought he was representing the real Mother Teresa.

His first TV appearances were in the UK. He was a regular comedian on the BBC Radio 4 show Loose Ends in the early 1990s.

Graham was one of the first big stars on Channel 5. He won an award for filling in as a host on a late-night talk show. He then hosted a funny quiz show called Bring Me the Head of Light Entertainment. This show helped him become more famous as a comedian and host. In 1996, he also co-hosted a late-night quiz show called Carnal Knowledge on ITV.

From 1996 to 1998, Graham played Father Noel Furlong in three episodes of the Channel 4 show Father Ted. This show was set on a made-up island off Ireland. Father Furlong was often in charge of the St Luke's Youth Group.

After this, Graham moved to Channel 4 in 1998. He hosted his own chat shows, like the weekly So Graham Norton (1998–2002). Then came the daily show V Graham Norton (2002–03). In 2003, The Observer newspaper called him one of the 1,000 funniest acts in British comedy. In 2004, Radio Times named him the most powerful person in TV comedy.

In 2004, Graham also tried American television. His show, The Graham Norton Effect, started on Comedy Central. It was also shown in the UK on BBC Three.

Working with the BBC

Graham Norton at the 2009 BAFTA Awards

Graham Norton started working with the BBC in 2001. He hosted Comic Relief that year.

In 2005, Graham joined the BBC and hosted the Saturday evening reality show Strictly Dance Fever on BBC One. He also had a new comedy chat show called Graham Norton's Bigger Picture. Sometimes, he even read stories on the BBC children's channel CBeebies for Bedtime Hour.

In 2006, Graham hosted How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria? on BBC One. In this show, Andrew Lloyd Webber looked for a lead actress for his West End musical The Sound of Music. Graham then hosted three more similar shows: Any Dream Will Do (2007), I'd Do Anything (2008), and Over the Rainbow (2010). These shows helped find new stars for big musicals like Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Oliver!, and Wizard of Oz.

Graham hosted other shows for the BBC too, such as When Will I Be Famous? (2007) and The One and Only (2008). Since 2007, he has often hosted The British Academy Television Awards. In 2007, he presented at Live Earth and visited Ethiopia to help the Ethiopian wolf. He was also featured in the BBC1 show Who Do You Think You Are?, which explores people's family history.

Graham's main chat show, The Graham Norton Show, started on 22 February 2007, on BBC Two. It was very similar to his earlier shows. On 6 October 2009, the show moved to BBC One and became an hour long.

In May 2010, Graham filled in for Chris Evans on BBC Radio 2. Later that month, it was confirmed he would take over Jonathan Ross's Saturday morning radio slot.

In December 2011, a panel show called Would You Rather...? with Graham Norton started on BBC America. It was recorded in New York.

In February 2019, it was announced that Graham would be a judge on RuPaul's Drag Race UK. He judges alongside Alan Carr, Michelle Visage, and RuPaul.

Graham Norton on the Radio

Since 1999, Graham Norton has been a regular guest on the BBC Radio 4 panel show Just a Minute. He has appeared in over 100 episodes.

On 2 October 2010, Graham started hosting a Saturday morning show on BBC Radio 2. He took over from Jonathan Ross. Graham co-hosted with Maria McErlane, who gave advice in a part called "Grill Graham". Other fun parts of the show included "Tune with a Tale" and "I Can't Believe It's Not Better".

In January 2012, Graham asked listeners to his Radio 2 show to help find his car after it was stolen. He called it "The Great Car Hunt."

On 11 November 2020, Graham announced he would leave the show. His last Saturday morning show was on 19 December 2020, after 10 years. Claudia Winkleman took over from him in February 2021.

Graham joined Virgin Radio UK in January 2021, hosting shows on Saturdays and Sundays. In February 2024, he announced he would stop hosting his weekend radio show to have his weekends free.

Graham Norton and Eurovision

Graham Norton co-hosted the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool. He was joined by Alesha Dixon, Julia Sanina and Hannah Waddingham.

Graham Norton, along with Claudia Winkleman, hosted the first Eurovision Dance Contest on 1 September 2007, in London. They also hosted the 2008 contest in Glasgow.

In October 2008, the BBC confirmed that Graham would replace Terry Wogan as the host of the UK's national selection show for Eurovision, Your Country Needs You.

On 5 December 2008, it was announced that Graham would also take over from Terry Wogan as the British commentator for the main Eurovision Song Contest. His first time commenting was at the 54th Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow in May 2009.

In January 2009, Graham hosted Eurovision: Your Country Needs You. This talent show aimed to find who would represent the United Kingdom in Eurovision that year. The winning song, "It's My Time", was sung by Jade Ewen.

Graham's first comments as Eurovision commentator were well-received. The Guardian newspaper noted his funny remarks about different countries' entries.

In 2015, Graham co-hosted the Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits concert show. This event celebrated the contest's 60th anniversary.

Graham played a fictional version of himself as the British Eurovision commentator in the 2020 Netflix movie Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.

Graham co-hosted the final of the 2023 contest in Liverpool. He was joined by Alesha Dixon, Hannah Waddingham, and Julia Sanina. He also continued his usual commentary role. This made him the second-oldest person to ever host the Eurovision Song Contest.

Graham Norton on ITV

In 2024, Graham Norton returned to ITV to host a new version of Wheel of Fortune. This included a celebrity version with guests like Gok Wan and Charlotte Church.

Other Fun Activities

Graham Norton with his dog Bailey in 2006, supporting Crusaid

Graham Norton has also appeared in movies. He played Mr Puckov in the 2006 comedy film Another Gay Movie. In 2007, he played Taylor in the romantic comedy I Could Never Be Your Woman. He also voiced a computer in the short film Robbie the Reindeer in Close Encounters of the Herd Kind.

Graham was part of a big advertising campaign for the UK National Lottery. He was an animated unicorn alongside a character based on Lady Luck. He has also advertised McVitie's biscuits.

In 1999, Graham appeared in the music video for the Boyzone song "When The Going Gets Tough". Eight years later, in 2007, he was in the music video for Girls Aloud and Sugababes' song "Walk This Way". Both songs were made for Comic Relief.

In January 2009, Graham made his debut on the West End stage. He performed in a show called La Cage Aux Folles. In 2009, he also hosted a comedy game show called Most Popular on US TV.

Graham wrote an advice column for The Daily Telegraph newspaper from 2006 to 2018. In October 2010, his columns were turned into a book called Ask Graham.

In 2016, Graham published his first novel, Holding. It was a story about a murder in an Irish village. Holding won the Popular Fiction Book of the Year award in 2016. In 2022, the book was made into a TV series.

On 7 March 2013, Graham broke a Guinness World Record. He asked the "Most Questions Asked on a TV Chat Show" during Comic Relief's Big Chat. This event raised over £1 million for charity.

In October 2014, Graham released his second memoir, The Life and Loves of a He-Devil. It won an award at the 2014 Irish Book Awards. He was also named in the top 10 on the World Pride Power list that year.

Graham owns a small part of a New Zealand winery called Invivo Wines. He even has his own wine range with them, which started in 2014.

In July 2015, Graham had an interview event with the Bishop of Cork. Over 400 people attended this event at the West Cork Literary Festival.

On 9 October 2020, Graham announced he was the voice of Moonwind in the Disney/Pixar animated movie Soul.

Graham Norton's Personal Life

Graham Norton lives mostly in the Wapping area of London. He also has homes in Manhattan, on the Sussex coast, and in County Cork, Ireland, where he was born.

In January 2012, Graham's home was burgled, and his car keys were stolen. He asked his listeners on his BBC Radio 2 show to help find his car.

He adopted two dogs from the UK charity Dogs Trust in 2012. He called them his "significant others." One was a labradoodle named Bailey, and the other was a terrier named Madge. Madge passed away in December 2019 when she was at least 16 years old. In October 2020, Graham shared that Bailey had also passed away in Cork at the age of 15.

On 10 July 2022, Graham Norton married Scottish filmmaker Jonathan "Jono" McLeod. Their wedding took place at Bantry House in County Cork.

Graham Norton's Film and TV Appearances

Films

Television

Awards and Achievements

See also

In Spanish: Graham Norton para niños