Graham Norton has said he does not know whether he will ever have a successor as the host of a prime-time chat show.
The comedian, 63, has presented The Graham Norton Show since 2007 and is known for attracting high-profile guests to his sofa. Speaking at the Royal Television Society London Convention, he said it was difficult to see how a new terrestrial television chat show could launch now and grow into a major success.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen now, it takes so long to establish a new show, I sort of can’t see that happening,” Norton said.
He referred to the use of an AI version of Michael Parkinson, saying: “They brought back an AI Michael Parkinson, maybe they’ll do that.” Norton added that it was “difficult to see how a big terrestrial telly chat show could start again” and said it would be interesting to see whether streaming services eventually moved into talk shows, noting that they had not done so to a significant extent so far.
Norton speculated that someone who hosts a successful podcast could one day end up making a similar programme for television. “It’ll just be aired on TV,” he said.
The presenter also discussed Claudia Winkleman’s BBC chat show. Winkleman presented the programme earlier this year but decided to leave after one series, saying she had been too nervous to enjoy it.
“Claudia was the perfect person to do that,” Norton said. “I’ve spoken to her and she did not enjoy it. She didn’t want to do it.”
Norton said he did not feel pressure to continue presenting his own show, although he acknowledged that ending it could create difficulties for his production company, So Television.
“I don’t feel a pressure to continue. I’m very happy to continue, but at the same time, I slightly know that if I stop, the business is a bit f*****,” he said.
He stressed that the company’s position was not the reason he continued. “I keep going because I still enjoy the show and I recognise how fortunate I am to be doing it,” Norton said, adding that “the vagaries of success are enormous”.
“I’m aware I’ve had a much bigger slice of the pie than most people,” he said.
