Graham Norton: ‘I’ll end chatshow before people go ‘f**k off!’
By Josh Haggis
Graham Norton has said he hopes to end his BBC One chatshow before viewers get sick of it.
The Graham Norton Show is now on its 15th series, having begun on BBC Two in 2007 and moved up to BBC One in 2009.
Asked how long he intends to continue hosting the Friday night chatshow, the Irish presenter told our friends at Digital Spy: “Well, it all depends when the BBC kick me off! If they kick me off next year, then yes, I’ll keep going until then.”
Norton then added: “I always said I’d retire at 50, but now I’m 51 and I’m still doing it and we’re doing it for the future, I guess. And I’m still enjoying it.
“It’s not like this awful thing that I’ve got to force myself to do – I like doing it, I like going to work. So hopefully I will start to hate it before the public start to hate it, and so I’ll step away just before people are going, ‘F**k off!'”
Norton – who will present the BAFTAs tonight (May 18) on BBC One – went on to explain that he believes the show has lasted so long because it is constantly evolving:
“I’ve got older, we’ve moved channels, we’ve changed the format, so there’s always something else going on with it,” he said. “You never know – we could be cancelled tomorrow and there’ll be no explanation for its longevity because it’s over!”
The Graham Norton Show airs Fridays at 10pm on BBC One. The BAFTAs hosted by Graham Norton air at 8pm tonight (May 18) on BBC One.