The show will go on
Graham Norton revealed last night that he would be taking a break from his self-titled chat show in Februaray and announced who would fill his shoes until his return.
Norton has been hosting The Graham Norton Show for 32 seasons over an 18 year period.
The 61-year-old is heading off to Australia for his live tour where he will be visiting the cities of Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane and Melbourne in March.
His live show, called An Evening with Graham Norton, will be in Australia for the first time, as he will share stories from his life and career, even getting the audience involved with a Q&A session in each show.
However, he is heading there early for a well deserved holiday in the country.
The Irishman’s absence will not prevent the show from going on though as there will be a stand-in celebrity presenter while he is away.
The temporary host was actually one of last night’s guests, The Traitors host Claudia Winkleman.
The Strictly presenter was a guest on the iconic red sofa alongside Brie Larson, Billy Porter, Myles Smith and Tom Hiddleston.
Winkleman will be taking the reins for one episode on 28 February in Norton’s absence, and after he thanked her for covering him, she joked: “I apologise in advance!”
She was on the show last night talking about the new season of The Traitors but admitted that after last year’s emotional rollercoaster of an ending, she’s nervous about how this series will fare.
She said: “I am always very nervous that people aren’t watching and then incredibly grateful that they are. I feel about Traitors like people feel about an offspring – you’re so glad when people love it. I can’t say much but the producers are so clever and there are lots of twists and turns coming.”
She also spoke about her fashion choices which always get fans of her shows talking.
She said: “We always like to have a muse – for Strictly it has been Anita Dobson and this year it was Demis Roussos. For Traitors it’s Princess Anne meets Sarah Brightman.
“We’ve already decided on next year’s – I’ll be dressing as Gerald from Clarkson’s Farm!”
