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Why Graham Norton Changed His Answer When Asked About The Worst Guest On His Show

'Oh my God, that is an insight into how that man is'

Maryjane
Why Graham Norton Changed His Answer When Asked About The Worst Guest On His Show

In all the years Graham Norton has hosted The Graham Norton Show, Hundreds of guests have sat on the sofa or the small spread-out chairs they had during the pandemic. Yes, there have been many jokes and entertaining moments on the show over the years.

But nevertheless, someone has to be the unfortunate, well-known face that receives the dubious distinction of being the "worst" guest. The show has a the nature of having a large number of guests every week.

So when the Graham Norton Show premieres, Graham's response to the question of which guest he thought was least impressive has changed throughout the years.

Robert De Niro, according to Norton, was initially a pretty "benign" presence on the show, failing to wow both the audience and Norton with a story that could ultimately cut through the room floor. "Last time he started telling a story – he went on and on," Norton explained at the Cheltenham Literature Festival a few years ago.

"We were all leaning in, willing it to be amazing... then he finally went, ‘why am I telling this?’ Nobody had an answer. We cut it."

But when Graham was talking about it at a Dublin event honoring the release of his book Forever Home, he revised his response to the question about the "worst guest."

Here is Graham Norton

Here is Graham NortonBBC

The presenter was reportedly asked at the event about the worst guest he’d ever had on the show, prompting him to mention a certain disgraced movie mogul. His choice wasn't exclusively predicated on the fact he’s now in prison after being sentenced to 23 years for rape and se*ual assault, but that probably had a part to play.

"I often talk around who my least favourite guest was, but now, 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 Norton says that Harvey Weinstein is the worst guest he's ever had on the show

Graham Norton says that Harvey Weinstein is the worst guest he's ever had on the showCharles McQuillan/Getty Images

Norton shared how Weinstein was sending emails expressing a desire to appear on the talk program, even though it was already completely scheduled. "He e-mailed back: 'What if I blah de blah de blah'. [I replied] 'No, the show is fully booked, blah de blah'," Norton continued.

"And he e-mailed back again, 'But I think...', and I just had to turn to my booker and say 'Can you please deal with this?' And at the time, I thought that sort of attitude, that kind of 'Oh no, I'm going on [the show]', that is what makes you a very good producer.

Norton added that now they know what they know, that is what makes him a predator. "It was that kind of weird tunnel-vision thing."

Norton went on to say:

"And it was sort of chilling in retrospect, because I was just laughing at those emails. But you realise 'Oh my God, that is an insight into how that man is'."

In 2015, David Tennant, Olivia Colman, and Jessie J joined Weinstein for an appearance on The Graham Norton Show. De Niro was knocked off the pedestal of "worst guest" by the host's interaction with Weinstein, which makes sense given that all the actor had done was recite an uninteresting story.

Maryjane