Graham Norton quits Virgin Radio UK weekend show
A Graham Norton Show guest once requested a second dressing room ahead of the show for their mobile phone. The popular chat show first hit television screens in 2007 and despite initially only being run for 13 episodes, the programme is still going strong.
With nearly two decades of history under its belt, The Graham Norton Show has welcomed hundreds of guests over the years with some giving out unusual demands backstage. Long-time producer Graham Stuart has been there from the very start and founded the production company So Television with the comedian and talk show host in 1998.
The company has produced Norton's chat shows on Channel 4 including So Graham Norton and V Graham Norton and The Graham Norton Show for BBC One and BBC Two.
The famous red couch has seen many memorable moments between Norton and the celeb guests, but there have also been some unforgettable backstage incidents that fans will know nothing about.
Although there haven't been many crazy antics from the famous line-up, Stuart explained to The Metro how it was "kind of disappointing" that he didn’t have many wild stories to draw on.
However, Stuart did recall the time when a "major star" put in an incredibly strange request.
"I can’t give names, but we once had a major artist insist on a second dressing room," the producer told the publication. "Which, you know, that’s fair enough. But…it was for their phone."
However, Stuart did say they also once cleared another room solely for the purpose of storing Dolly Parton’s wig.
Despite agreeing to some celeb demands, the producer also confirmed that there were limits and it would be unlikely that they would bend over backward to make extreme requests happen.
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"You can ask for insane things. But why would we give them?", Stuart said before adding: "This is a really important show for the entertainment business. You’re not going to mess around."
He also explained how they want to look after people and make them "feel comfortable", but they wouldn't be agreeing to requests like "sorting colours of M and M’s".
One of the most shocking moments on the show came in 2013 when a drunken Mark Wahlberg caused "chaos" by sitting on the host's lap and repeatedly cutting off fellow guest Sarah Silverman and challenging Michael Fassbender.
Looking back on what happened after the cameras stopped rolling, Stuart confirmed the legendary actor became "more in touch with reality and planet Earth".
The producer also confirmed that the Hollywood star knew "whatever happened we would make sure what went out was good and fair and honest" and "that’s exactly what went out".
He added: "We love Mark Wahlberg because he is such a big star."
