Graham: “I’m too set in my ways to find love”
TV legend Graham Norton opens up about facing life alone, why he’s not bothered about same-sex couples on Strictly, and his favourite celeb guests
He’s the chat show king who is once again lighting up our Friday nights with a glittering line-up of A-listers on his sofa. But despite his winning charm working its magic on the stars, Graham Norton admits he’s all but given up on finding that someone special.
Unlucky-in-love Graham, 55, tells Closer, “I think the older you get and the more you’re single, the more unlikely it is that you will find a long-term relationship, because you become quite set in your ways.
“And you like your life the way it is. [Actress] Kathy Burke said a really good thing when she talked about not being in a relationship. She said, ‘I know that being in a relationship means compromise – but why must I make all the compromises?’ That really resonated with me when I heard her say that.”
We’re meeting over coffee in London’s Soho House, where Graham is on fine form, cheeky and amusing as he chats about the return of his chat show, the dating game and dealing with awkward A-listers.
SUPER FUSSY
He currently lives alone in east London with his elderly dogs – Bailey, a labradoodle, and Madge, a rescue terrier – after his previous two relationships petered out. Graham was linked to Canadian fashion consultant Trevor Patterson from 2011 to 2013 – who later did a kiss and tell on him – and music marketing consultant Andrew Smith from 2013 to 2015.
But Graham, who’s reported to be worth £20 million, admits he’s tricky to co-habit with, having famously said he’d rather live alone than with incorrectly folded towels or toilet paper hung the wrong way around. It sounds as if his home is a gleaming show palace, so is he a super-fussy clean freak? “If you saw my house, you would go, ‘No, he’s not,’ but I am fussy!” laughs Graham. “I know what’s in those piles of old magazines and bits of paper and piles of coats. And I have dogs, so I can’t be that fussy.”
He’s steered clear of gay hook-up app Grindr because he feels it’s inappropriate for a high-profile BBC employee, but admits he has tried out Tinder.
BROKEN PEOPLE
“I was on Tinder a couple of years ago, but I’m not on it now,” he says. “I felt like I’d done it. There’s a law of diminishing returns on Tinder. I met a few people and thought, ‘God, there are a lot of broken people in the world and I don’t really need to meet them’ – I don’t need to be part of their damage.”
When it comes to being single, Graham says, “My stance on this hasn’t changed. Being single is fine, because it’s the life I’m living, and I do think that, in the end, you either enjoy the life you’re living or change something.”
It’s not a bad life, either, with Graham, who has won a host of TV and entertainment awards, welcoming another gaggle of stars to his sofa for a chin-wag over a drink.
A-LIST GUESTS
“I still love doing the show, even though I’ve been doing a chat show for 21 years now,” says Graham. “It hurts my head to think of it! But we still get great guests. Some of my new favourites are Chris Pratt, who’s very good at telling a story and certainly feigns enjoying himself on the show, which is kind of infectious. I also really like Channing Tatum – he just seems to have a good time. And some people are just dazzling to look at, like Rihanna.”
With the darker nights approaching, Graham says he’ll be tuning in with the rest of the country to watch Strictly Come Dancing.
“I just think it’s really good telly and you can talk through most of it because there isn’t a story,” he says. “I can be on the phone or cooking while it’s on – it’s not like watching The Handmaid’s Tale.”
And Graham is not at all fussed that Strictly hasn’t yet featured a same-sex couple, despite some fans calling for the format to change.
He explains, “Apparently you can’t have a same-sex couple – I’m told that the dancing doesn’t work because of the lifts.”
He adds, “People get up in arms about them not having same-sex couples, but they’ve had lots of openly gay people on there, so it’s not like they’re pretending we don’t exist.”