Graham Norton celebrates 30 years of Comic Relief

15th May 2017

Tonight Graham Norton viewers will be able to watch a special Comic Relief show.

To celebrate 30 years of fundraising, Graham is joined by celebrity supporters Jennifer Saunders, David Walliams, Cheryl Fernadez-Versini, Jack Dee and Johnny Vegas.

And Johnny, will exclusively reveal that this year he will be performing in a One Direction tribute band called “No Direction” live at the London Palladium on the Red Nose Day night of TV. He said: “I’m going to be one of the singers. I don’t know which one but he has a red hoodie.”

Also in the show, David talks about the sketch he has filmed with Stephen Hawking. He said: “I was chuffed he agreed and I loved getting script notes and I thought, ‘How often do you get script notes from a genius like that?’”

He also discusses his new book The Queen’s Orang-Utan, from which all profits will go to Comic Relief.

Cheryl tells Graham that Comic Relief changed her life when she took part in the Comic Relief Celebrity Apprentice in 2007.

She said: “No one had the nerve to call Simon Cowell other than me. I left him a voicemail saying, ‘It’s Cheryl and I want some money from you. You have half an hour to call me back and I would like between one and ten thousand pounds.’ I didn’t think he would turn up but he did and gave us £25,000. Ever since then he says he admired my tenacity. And that was the beginning of our working relationship.”

Jennifer, sporting a Comic Relief onesie, tells Graham: “To be honest, when Dawn (French) and I started, we thought it was a one-off gig. Comic Relief is one of the few places where you can actually do anything you want.

They say, ‘What do you want to do? You can do that.’ And off you go. It’s been like a dream.”

She also talks about her recent win on The Great Comic Relief Bake Off, which means she is through to the final on the Red Nose Day Night of TV on Friday 13th March.

Jack talks about his escape – followed by his re-entry – from the first ever Celebrity Big Brother house. He said: “I’d not watched the show so didn’t know what to expect but, as it was for charity, I expected an easy ride. I escaped in sheer desperation.”