All the celebrities Graham Norton slated after appearing on BBC chat show-Robert Oliver-Entertainment – Metro

Which Graham Norton guests are never coming back? (Picture: BBC/PA)

The Graham Norton Show has been on the BBC for 17 years – that means hundreds of celebrities have sat on the famous red sofa.

Most of the time, the famous faces get along brilliantly, with the chat show praised for the chemistry it manages to establish between its guests.

Over the years, incredible moments have occurred thanks to the way Graham gets the star power in the room to give their very best for the audience at home.

Everyone remembers Julie Walters feeling 50 Cent’s tongue to find a bullet fragment, Will Smith and Alfonso Ribeiro doing the Carlton Dance, and dozens of other incredible moments.

But what about when things don’t go right? Who are the guests who were so bad that they stick out in not just the viewers’ minds, but Graham Norton’s himself?

Here are some of the worst Graham Norton Show guests ever, and what Graham has had to say about the on-air (and off-air) disasters he’s had to deal with over the years.

Mark Wahlberg

Mark Wahlberg got as close as he could to Graham in 2013 (Picture: BBC/WENN)

Fans of The Graham Norton Show will unfortunately never forget Mark Wahlberg’s second appearance on the sofa.

The American actor, 53, was on the show promoting his new film Broken City and almost immediately admitted to Graham that he was drunk.

He said: ‘[It’s not a good idea] to drink alcohol and come on this show in the evening. What’s going on here? It’s a recipe for a disaster.’

At one point, while actress Sarah Silverman was telling a story, Mark slid along the sofa and, after Sarah had tapped him on the thigh, went to sit on Graham’s lap.

Despite Graham telling him ‘You sit there!’ and pointing to the sofa, Mark took a seat on Graham’s leg and cupped his hand around Graham’s chest.

Sarah, who was also drunk, then initiated a fake kiss with Mark before the third guest, Michael Fassbender, tried to move the show on by telling a story of his own.

Graham told The Mirror: ‘The famous [worst guest] was Mark Wahlberg, I guess. He was fine when he came on the show. There was not a hint of [him being drunk].

‘Then about 20 minutes into the show [the alcohol] caught up with him. Oh it was bad. At one point Mark was asleep on the couch in front of the audience.’

Mark has since been invited back, however, which means the incident was largely forgiven by Graham!

Mickey Rourke

Mickey Rourke didn’t leave a good first impression Graham Norton (Picture: BBC)

Someone who hasn’t been invited back is actor Mickey Rourke. Mickey, now 72, appeared on the show back in 2008 and left Graham feeling ‘like a teacher, not a chat show host’.

Mickey was smoking frequently on the show and, during his interview, appeared to be getting a little close to actress Jessica Biel, who was on the show with him.

Throughout the show, Mickey made several awkward comments towards Jessica, while Graham told Jessica that he was ‘monitoring the situation’ and keeping an eye on things.

He later told the NZ Herald: ‘Mickey Rourke he was just exhausting because he wanted to smoke all the time. I’d turn away for a second, turn back and he’d have lit another cigarette.’

He continued: ‘[The experience of interviewing Mickey] was so boring – you feel like a teacher taking children on a school trip, not a chat show host.’

Madonna

Legendary singer-songwriter Madonna has appeared on The Graham Norton Show sofa twice – her first time was in 2012, and she most recently appeared in 2019.

But as much as the interviews themselves were completely professional, Graham has admitted that the Vogue hitmaker ‘doesn’t make it easy’ to get good answers from her.

‘She’s done [my show],’ Graham told Magic Radio in January 2024, referring to that first interview from 2012. ‘[But] then I think she fell out with me, and then the next one she did was Jonathan Ross. And then she came back to me,’ referencing the 2019 interview.

Graham stressed that he does like Madonna, but admitted that interviewing her has proved to be a bit of a challenge over the years: ‘I don’t know! I like Madonna, but she doesn’t make it easy.’

He added: ‘I always thought that I might become her friend.’

Kevin Costner

Another face who failed didn’t make a good impression on The Graham Norton Show was Hollywood legend Kevin Costner, who was hopefully just having a bad day.

Graham told The Express: ‘I ask him a question and he looks at me like “Jesus, do I have to talk to this man?” He kind of gives a half-arsed answer. And then Helen Mirren chips in and asks him a question and he could not be happier.’

Kevin, 69, appeared on the show in April 2016 alongside Dame Helen, as well as Ricky Gervais, Eric Bana, and Ewan McGregor, as well as musical guest Meghan Trainor.

Robert De Niro

You’d expect a name as huge as Robert De Niro to go down a storm on The Graham Norton Show, but, according to the host, that’s not how things went at all.

Robert, 81, has appeared on the show four times in the past, but in 2018 Graham revealed that the esteemed actor just didn’t seem to hit it off on the sofa.

‘He’s not a storyteller, or very verbal,’ Graham told the crowd at the 2018 Cheltenham Literature Festival. ‘He’s a benign presence.’

At one point, Robert had apparently started to tell a story that had no real direction: ‘We were all leaning in, willing it to be amazing. Then he finally went, “Why am I telling this?” And nobody had an answer, so we cut it.’

Harvey Weinstein

Harvey Weistein (black suit) appeared on Graham Norton’s sofa in 2015 (Credits: BBC/Picasa)

Disgraced former movie producer Harvey Weinstein appeared on The Graham Norton Show in 2015, two years before historic sexual abuse allegations were brought against him.

And Graham Norton believed he got something of an insight into the mind of the man who was eventually jailed for 23 years after being found guilty on two felony counts.

Speaking about him years later, Graham said: ‘I often talk around who my least favourite guest was – but someone reminded me, I have a really good answer to this now. It’s Harvey Weinstein. He’s in jail, so he gets the prize for the worst guest ever.

Graham then mentioned that he was emailed incessantly before his appearance on the show: ‘Now that we know what we know … [the constant emailing] was sort of chilling in retrospect.’

The former Hollywood executive had his New York-based rape conviction overturned and is currently awaiting a retrial, which is set to start in November. His conviction in California still stands.

Watch The Graham Norton Show tonight, BBC One at 10.40pm.

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