Graham Norton ‘on many medications’ after surgery before Eurovision Grand Final

Graham Norton recently had to undergo surgery (Picture: James Veysey/Bafta/REX/Shutterstock)

The lead-up to the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest has been anything but smooth sailing for poor Graham Norton.

Since 2008, Graham has been entertaining viewers with his witty, sarcastic quips from the British commentary box, having succeeded Sir Terry Wogan.

It’ll be music to the ears of Eurovision fanatics when we say that Graham is returning this year for another – undoubtedly memorable – stint as the Grand Final takes place in Basel, Switzerland.

Representing the United Kingdom is girl group Remember Monday with their song What The Hell Just Happened?, and they’ll be hoping to achieve a higher place on the leaderboard than our previous two entrants.

While Irish broadcaster Graham is, of course, on hand for moral support behind the scenes, the 62-year-old has had a pretty turbulent time of things himself lately.

Speaking on the Scott Mills Radio Show on BBC, he revealed that he recently underwent a major operation.

He’s been part of the UK’s Eurovision Song Contest coverage for almost 20 years (Picture: Kevin Parry/REX/Shutterstock) Girl group Remember Monday will represent the UK this year (Picture: AP)

‘This is my left shoulder’s first appearance on radio; (it’s) a brand new shoulder. It’s less than two weeks old,’ he said.

‘It feels a bit new; it’s a little owie (painful).

‘But forgive me, I’m on many, many medications right now, so if I say anything bad, it’s not my fault!’

Graham’s comments come after he sparked concern at the TV Baftas last Sunday, arriving on the red carpet with an unexpected accessory.

The talk show legend was as chipper as ever, posing for photographers in his dapper black tux complete with quirky collar.

His left arm, however, was in a mesh sling, which he did not speak about in detail at the time.

Graham sparked concern when he arrived at the TV Baftas with his arm in a sling (Picture: Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images for P&O Cruises)

It remains unclear whether Graham suffered a nasty injury or had other reasons for requiring surgery on his shoulder.

But one thing’s for certain, and it’s that he’s refusing to allow an operation to get in the way of his Eurovision 2025 experience.

Ahead of the big night tomorrow, where 26 countries will perform in the hopes of lifting the trophy, Graham admitted he has been kept in the dark about what we can expect.

‘I know nothing about the plans for the Grand Final yet, but when it’s a country like Switzerland that haven’t hosted for 36 years, I suspect they are going to pull out all the stops!’, he said to the BBC. ‘I can’t wait to see what they have in store.’

Graham is also cheerleading hard for Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull, and Charlotte Steele, aka Remember Monday.

It’s been over 25 years since a girl band last represented the UK, as Precious performed Say It Again in Jerusalem in 1999, which placed 12th with 38 points.

Finnish group KAJ are currently the favourites to win Eurovision 2025 for Sweden (Picture: Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtikuva/Shutterstock) Miriana Conte from Malta is ‘serving’ up tough competition (Picture: AP) Alas, Graham won’t have an Irish entrant to cheer for this year, as they failed to qualify for the final (Picture: AP)

Asked what he thinks of the UK’s entrant this time, Graham replied: ‘Remember Monday have a great advantage in that they are unlike any other act this year.

‘Their vocals and harmonies are flawless, the song has a very strong hook, and the trio are hugely likeable.

‘With a decent place in the running order, they should do very well indeed.’

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The running order has now been revealed, with Remember Monday, who also previously appeared on The Voice, performing eighth.

They will be sandwiched between Ukraine in seventh and Austria in ninth, while Norway opens the show and Albania closes it.

Currently, Sweden is the favourite to win, but countries including Austria, France, the Netherlands, Finland, and Malta are all hot on their heels.

The Eurovision 2025 final airs tomorrow night on BBC.

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