''So Graham Norton'' is a British television

chat show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Sho ...

hosted by Irish personality

Graham Norton Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), better known by his stage name Graham Norton, is an Irish actor, author, comedian, commentator, and presenter. Well known for his work in the UK, he is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for his comed ...

. It aired on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

from 3 July 1998 to 1 March 2002.

Theme

The show was primarily adult-oriented, with host Norton dishing out many sexual innuendos and stories. A staple of the show is the beginning of the programme, which involved large amounts of audience participation (named "So . . .", with the blank filled with a different adjective every show). Audience members would usually share embarrassing stories (nearly always of a sexual nature), and Norton would then sometimes use the same audience members for later games, with real prizes. Also, a recurring segment includes Norton looking for people on the

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with different fetishes, including balloons,

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and a lightweight environment.

Format (timeframe)

The entire series consisted of 5 series. In the later series, the run started around October and ran all the way to February or March. There were shows broadcast during Christmas and New Year's weeks and there was also a

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special.

Guests

The guests were not typical talk show guests. Most of them were not there to promote their latest project, but were there at Norton's behest. For example,

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...

only flew to England because he had been invited to appear on the show by Norton since he chose the guests himself. Generally, these were the people that Norton grew up with. There were reality show stars, gay icons, old American television stars and soap stars. There were not many musicians and those who did make an appearance, except for

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, were not there to sing.

Recurring themes

A running gag on the programme is Norton's obsession with '' Tarzan, the Ape Man'' star Miles O'Keeffe. Norton has a framed photo of O'Keeffe as Tarzan and O'Keeffe would often be phoned by Norton. Betty Hoskins (2 August 1922 – December 2019) was an elderly woman who first appeared on the show as a contestant in one of the mini-games. She was a

dinner lady Lunch lady, in Canada and the US, is a term for a woman who cooks and serves food in a school cafeteria. The equivalent term in the United Kingdom is dinner lady. The role is also sometimes known as cafeteria lady. Sometimes, a lunch lady also p ...

at the drama school that Norton attended. Hoskins featured in many episodes of the show as well as on Norton's subsequent programmes.

Future

The show was a success and was ultimately extended to five nights a week under a new name '' V Graham Norton''.

Episode guide

Series 1

Series 2

Series 3

Series 4

Series 5

Home media

A VHS cassette with the title ''The Best of So Graham Norton'', was made available on VHS cassette in 2000. This was followed by a DVD with the same title in 2004.

References

External links

* {{InternationalEmmyAward Popular Arts Programming Graham Norton 1990s British television talk shows 1990s British comedy television series 1998 British television series debuts 2000s British comedy television series 2000s British television talk shows 2002 British television series endings Channel 4 comedy Channel 4 talk shows English-language television shows Television series by ITV Studios