MONDO EXTRAS

British TV personality Graham Norton is slowly taking over American airwaves. He's got his How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? currently airing on BBC America, his Graham Norton Show chatfest will resume again in October, and now he's also hosting the WE TV series Most Popular (airs Thursdays a 10 PM). It's a game show, where a live studio audience votes on which contestant they like the best. In between all his gigs, we got a chance to talk to him and ask him how popular he thinks he really is.

TWoP: I'm a big fan of your stuff, though we get it on a bit of a delay.
Graham Norton: [Jokes] That's a small price to pay for living in America.

TWoP: We're just now watching the reality show How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? which aired in the UK in 2006.
Norton: Oh of course, yes that just got here, didn't it?

TWoP: We're in the middle of it. I'm anxiously trying not to look at the Internet to find out who won.
Norton: Oh, can you not tell already?

TWoP: Yeah, I've got a hunch. I love it and Any Dream Will Do. Are we getting another one of those musical casting shows soon?
Norton: Yeah, we've done another one you haven't seen yet called I'd Do Anything where we look for Nancy and Oliver. But I mean, Oliver doesn't have quite the same resonance in America, I don't think, but in Britain we love it.

TWoP: I think it's a charming little show. We did it in middle school.
Norton: Yeah I guess actually lots of schools do it, don't they?

TWoP: Yes. Are you filming another one over there soon that we'll eventually get five years from now?
Norton: We were hoping to do The Wizard of Oz, because Andrew's got the rights to it at the moment. But that's fallen through because Andrew's got the sequel to Phantom coming out.

TWoP: He's such a busy guy.
Norton: He is. So when he's free, we'll definitely do another one. They're really fun to do.

TWoP: They're really fun and I feel a little spoiled now because we've gotten two pretty much back-to-back. When it's done, I'll be a little sad.
Norton: Life goes on. [Laughs]

TWoP: We shall survive, I'm sure. We'll have Most Popular to tie us over.
Norton: On We!

TWoP: I just watched the first episode and it is fun.

1 2 3 4 5Next