The Graham Norton Show: Who's on the red sofa tonight and what time it starts
Two of the funniest stars in Hollywood will appear on the show
The Graham Norton Show returns to BBC One tonight, with two of the biggest comedy stars in Hollywood headlining the red sofa line-up. Make sure you know what time it starts so you don’t miss it.
Last week’s show boasted one of the best celeb line-ups of the year: Emma Thompson, Timothée Chalamet, Rowan Atkinson, and Edward Enninful, with JADE performing.
Tonight (December 19), he’s pulled out the stops with some huge acting stars, a hilarious comedian, and a brilliant musician.
So, here’s who’s on The Graham Norton Show tonight and exactly what time you can tune in.
The Graham Norton Show: Who is on tonight?
Tonight’s line-up on The Graham Norton Show kicks off with two heavy hitters: Paul Rudd and Jack Black.
The comedy giants will be promoting their new movie, Anaconda, an unexpected reboot of Jennifer Lopez’s 1997 horror movie.
Speaking on the show, Rudd compared the film to Nicolas Cage’s The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, describing it as a “clever meta-comedy take on a reboot”.
For Black to give the go-ahead on a new project, it needs at least “three ‘worth the price of admission’ moments… and this definitely has some powerful scenes,” he said.
“It is really very funny and crazy. I had never read anything like it. I was mainly excited to work with Paul because he makes me laugh so much. I made sure he was definitely attached to the film before I signed anything,” Black added.
Who else is on with Graham?
Actress Jessie Buckley (best known for her performances in Wild Rose and The Lost Daughter) will join Rudd and Black on the sofa.
She stars in Hamnet, the new movie from Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao. If the title reminds you of Hamlet, that’s intentional: it follows William Shakespeare (played by Normal People’s Paul Mescal) and his wife, Agnes (Buckley), as they deal with a tragedy that inspires the famous play.
“It is a real peek behind the curtain of who the family man Shakespeare might have been. It’s about love, loss, motherhood and storytelling,” she said, adding that it made her cry.
As it turns out, Buckley isn’t the only one with some Shakespeare experience. Rudd spoke about how he’d taken part in an afternoon masterclass with Sir Ben Kingsley when he was just starting out as an actor.
“My manager put this down as, ‘Paul played Hamlet in a production directed by Sir Ben Kingsley’ I lived in fear that he would one day see my CV,” he said.
Michelle de Swarte joins the red sofa with hilarious story
Michelle de Swarte, an actress and comedian you may recognise from Netflix’s The Duchess and her stint as a judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, will be Graham’s penultimate guest of the evening.
De Swarte’s career began in modelling, but she discovered a knack for making people that made her want to pivot to comedy. Unfortunately, that did follow a few mishaps.
“I had so many awful moments while modelling – I fell twice during a Gucci show, and then had a tampon string hanging out,” she recalled.
“After that, I thought comedy may be the way forward!
The celebs will also enjoy a performance from Tom Odell. The musician will sing ‘When I Close My Eyes’ from her new album, ‘A Wonderful Life (Epilogue)’ before joining the sofa for a chat.
What time is The Graham Norton Show on tonight?
The Graham Norton Show will air tonight (December 19) at 10:40pm. It will be available to watch on both BBC One and BBC iPlayer, and it finishes at 11:30pm.
As per usual, the show will finish with Graham inviting some brave audience members to the Big Red Chair. Let’s hope their stories cut the mustard.
Read more: The 15 funniest Graham Norton Show moments of all time
