Graham Norton: ‘Ireland has changed a lot for the better’
By Will Stroude
Graham Norton has discussed his experience of growing up gay in Ireland – and said he thinks the country has changed for the better since he left at the age of 20.
The BBC One presenter and comedian – who received an Icon accolade at the Attitude Awards on October 13 – was raised in rural County Cork before moving to San Francisco at the end of his teenage years. Interviewed in the latest Attitude, Norton reveals that he “wasn’t fond of Ireland growing up”.
Discussing the country’s evolving social attitudes, the 51-year-old says: “It’s kept the warmth and the creativity and the resourcefulness but it’s got rid of – not completely – the cloistered view of tiny minds.
“It’s like they’ve pulled back the curtain. It’s just a sunny, positive place now. What’s interesting is there’s a generation of young people in Ireland now and they take such pride in being part of a liberal, inclusive society. I think Ireland has changed a lot and for the better.”
You can read Graham’s full interview – in which he discusses his 20-year television career, Conchita Wurst’s Eurovision victory and the criticism he gets from gay men for being a camp entertainer – in the new issue of Attitude, which is out in shops now and available to download to your iPad or tablet device at Pocketmags.com/Attitude.
You can also order a physical copy via post – and pick the cover you want – from newsstand.co.uk.
