Graham Norton is returning to the stage to host a Christmas show, he tells Roz Laws.
Chat show host Graham Norton has finally given in and joined Twitter – but nobody has noticed.
There are already several people on the social networking site who claim to be the comedian and who have thousands of followers, even though they are fake.
So Graham decided he might as well jump in and create his own account, @grahnort. Only he did it such a low key way, and admittedly has only posted four messages in as many weeks, that he has so far attracted the attention of only 827 people.
In contrast, when Gary Barlow joined Twitter, he had amassed 100,000 followers in only an hour and now has more than 700,000.
There is an @GrahamNorton_ on Twitter with 8,646 followers, but it’s not THIS Graham Norton.
Even someone called Graham Nortan – whose profile picture is of Norton – has 8,531 followers, despite tweeting only three times and not for two years.
The real Graham’s first tweet was at least rather showbiz, about playing the piano with Sir David Jason and June Brown.
Speaking not long after he’d signed up, Graham tells me: “Twitter hasn’t hooked me yet. I think I have nothing to say.
“I feel I have quite enough outlets for my opinions, as I have my BBC1 chat show and my Radio 2 show on Saturdays.”
And now he has another outlet for his talent, as he makes a rare appearance on a comedy stage.
It is several years since he last tried stand-up – rather than sit-down on a comfy chair – comedy, but next month he is hosting Rock With Laughter at the LG Arena. Birmingham’s NEC is playing host to a star-studded Christmas show, promising two nights of top comedy and music.
Graham will be introducing the likes of Jimmy Carr, Dara O’Briain, Sarah Millican, Marti Pellow, Gabrielle and 10cc.
“The line-up is so good, I defy anyone not to have a good time,” says Graham, 48. “When I used to do stand-up, these gigs didn’t exist. Now I get comics on my show plugging their arena tours and DVDs and I’m jealous.
‘‘So when I was asked to do this, I thought ‘how fun’, to play an arena, but without the responsibility of doing a tour or it being my own show.
“I just get to mess around and have fun with the audience, because the pressure is off me. I know that in a minute Marti Pellow will come on and sing Love Is All Around.”
He will, however, be playing to his biggest-ever audience of 10,000 people – a far cry from the times when no-one turned up to his gigs.
“Yes, there were some very quiet nights, especially when I did the Edinburgh Festival.
“There was a rule that you’d perform for a minimum of 12 people. So it was like the time as a kid when you’d wait for the school bus, and if it was a minute late you’d go home saying ‘The bus didn’t come’.
