Graham Norton has spent more than two decades coaxing confessions out of the most famous people in the world from a red sofa, and somewhere in among all that he has made his own position on Marmite perfectly clear: he cannot stand it. For a man whose whole appeal is warmth and good humour, the firmness of the dislike is almost funny. It also puts him squarely on the hate side, which is reassuring proof that the love-it-or-hate-it line was never just marketing.
Does Graham Norton like Marmite?
No. Norton is firmly in the hater camp and has said so plainly. He also reached for the spread as a put-down while commentating on Eurovision, describing one entry as being “like Marmite, if everyone hated Marmite”, which manages to insult the song and the spread in the same breath. When a professional broadcaster uses your product as a unit of measurement for things people cannot stand, the brand has, in its own strange way, won.
Who is Graham Norton?
He was born Graham William Walker on 4 April 1963 in Clondalkin, County Dublin, and grew up in Bandon, County Cork, in a Church of Ireland family in mostly Catholic southern Ireland. He studied at Bandon Grammar School and then English and French at University College Cork, which he left after two years to pursue performing. He took the stage name Norton early in his career.
Graham Norton’s early career and Father Ted
Norton cut his teeth in stand-up comedy, performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in the early 1990s and turning up on radio and small television slots. His first real brush with fame came as an actor, playing the manic Father Noel Furlong in three episodes of “Father Ted” across 1996 to 1998, a performance many fans still quote. From there he moved into the presenting work that would define him, hosting “So Graham Norton” on Channel 4 from 1998.
The Graham Norton Show
“The Graham Norton Show” began on BBC Two in 2007 and moved to BBC One in 2009, where it has remained a fixture of the British weekend ever since. The format, several big-name guests on a sofa at once, a glass of wine in hand and a relaxed, mischievous host, has made it one of the most watched and most exported chat shows in the world, and won Norton a record number of BAFTAs for entertainment performance.
Graham Norton at Eurovision
Since 2009 Norton has been the BBC’s television commentator for the Eurovision Song Contest, inheriting the role from the late Sir Terry Wogan. His dry, affectionate mockery of the contest has become as much a part of the British Eurovision experience as the songs themselves, and the “Marmite” line is a small example of the style. He co-hosted the 2023 contest in Liverpool when the UK staged it on behalf of Ukraine.
Graham Norton the novelist
Away from the camera, Norton has built a genuine second career as a novelist. His debut, “Holding”, was published in 2016 and won Popular Fiction Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards, and he has followed it with several more, including “A Keeper”, “Home Stretch” and “Frankie”. The books are warm, character-led Irish stories, and they have been well reviewed rather than merely tolerated as a celebrity sideline.
Graham Norton’s notable work at a glance
- Father Ted (1996-1998, television) as Father Noel Furlong
- So Graham Norton (Channel 4, 1998-2002)
- The Graham Norton Show (BBC, 2007 to present)
- Eurovision Song Contest commentary (BBC, 2009 to present)
- BBC Radio 2 Saturday show (2010-2020), later Virgin Radio UK
- Novels including Holding (2016), A Keeper, Home Stretch and Frankie
