Why isn’t Graham Norton hosting his own show tonight?
It's only the second time it's happened.
The Graham Norton Show is always full of famous and familiar faces – but one famous and familiar face, Graham himself, won’t be there on Friday night.
Graham’s long-running chat show, which started in 2007, has become a favourite not just of UK TV viewers but TV fans all around the world – thanks to BBC America and YouTube.
It’s a rare day that Graham ever doesn’t host his own show, but this Friday will see someone else sat opposite the famous guests on the sofa.
Strictly Come Dancing and The Traitors host Claudia Winkleman is going to be in the presenting chair instead, with guests Chris Pratt, Soairse Monica Jackson, Toby Jones, and Rob Beckett keeping her company.
Claudia, 53, will just be taking over from Graham, 61, for this week, with the show’s 32nd season set to come to an end after a clip show on Friday, March 7.
But why is Graham Norton missing from his own show this Friday?
Claudia Winkleman will be taking over presenting duties instead (Picture: PA Wire) Why is Graham Norton not hosting his own show tonight?Graham will not be hosting The Graham Norton Show for just the second time in the series’ history on Friday, with Claudia Winkleman taking his place.
Claudia will be the first celeb since Jack Whitehall in 2019 to sit in Graham’s chair on his own show.
In 2019, Graham missed his own show due to his commitments to presenting the BBC’s coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest.
And in February 2025, the episode featuring Chris Pratt, Tony Jones, Soairse Monica Jackson, and Rob Beckett will also see Graham absent due to other commitments.
Claudia will be welcoming guests from the worlds of Hollywood and stand-up comedy (Picture: BBC/PA)When the episode was filmed, Graham was doing a stand-up comedy tour in Australia, which meant he was unable to get back over to the UK for filming.
When Claudia appeared as a guest in January, Graham revealed: ‘Claudia does have another little job coming up. At the end of this series I’m popping off to do a tour of Australia.
‘My seat is going to be filled for one week only by none other than Claudia Winkleman,’ Graham confirmed, with Claudia interrupting the applause to say: ‘I apologise.’
When will be be back? Graham is on tour right now – but he’ll be back soon! (Picture: James Veysey/ Bafta/ Rex/ Shutterstock)Graham will be absent for the penultimate episode of the 32nd season of The Graham Norton Show because of other commitments – chiefly a comedy tour in Australia.
However, fans need not worry – Graham isn’t giving up on the show any time soon and will be back on hosting duties from March 7 onwards.
That March 7 episode will be a compilation of all the best bits from the 32nd season, before the series takes its annual break for five-six months.
Since 2017, the Graham Norton Show has typically run from September to March, with the months between April and August typically giving Graham a chance to film other shows he’s involved with.
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, on which Graham is a frequent guest judge, is usually filmed during the summer months when The Graham Norton Show isn’t broadcasting.
This means fans can expect Graham to return to The Graham Norton Show when it returns in either late September or early October in 2025.
Who is on The Graham Norton Show tonight? This week’s guests are Chris Pratt, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Toby Jones and Rob Beckett(Picture: BBC/ PA Wire)
On Friday night, the Graham Norton Show will be hosted by Claudia instead of Graham – it’s only the second time he’s ever missed his own show.
The episode hosted by Claudia will see her talk to guests from the worlds of Hollywood, British TV and film, and stand-up comedy.
Chris, Soairse, Toby Jones, and Rob will be on the famous red sofa, with the musical performance coming from Rachel Chinouriri.
The Graham Norton Show airs tonight at 10.40pm on BBC One.
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