SOUTH AFRICA'S TV WEBSITE
SIGN IN SEARCH MENU
SOUTH AFRICA'S TV WEBSITE


Season 17, Episode 2

Shows Editor
22 Apr 2015 11:53 Posted in The Graham Norton Show



Next week (28th April) Graham welcomes an all-female line-up of celebrities – Oscar-nominated actress Carey Mulligan, Swedish star Noomi Rapace, Britain's Got Talent judge Amanda Holden and singer songwriter Jessie Ware.

Carey reveals that the producers of her movie Far from the Madding Crowd tried to protect her and her co-star from the dangers of the film's many sheep extras, "It was a health and safety thing, you can't touch anything because of the insurance and they didn't want us to act with real sheep.  They were adamant we shouldn't go near the sheep so they made us have a sheep double – a sheepskin rug taped to a big water bottle, which they bounced around in the water… we gave that a go for a minute but we couldn't and said, 'Give us the sheep.'"

Revealing acting with animals did actually turn out to be quite dangerous, she adds, "But they let me ride a horse and I did have a concussion after coming off. I was genuinely concussed for about six weeks of the filming; there are parts I don't remember! When we shot the last scene of the film, I came racing round the corner and got thrown off and landed on my head. Ten minutes later we were filming the big declaration scene and I just dropped to my knees. Matthias (Schoenaerts) thought I was acting and just carried on and then I slumped over over."

Talking about her crush on Alan Rickman and how gullible she is, Carey says, "I was performing at the Royal Court Theatre and he is a patron there so I saw him about a lot.  Everyone in the cast knew I was obsessed with him. One day I got a letter in my dressing room from him saying how much he loved the show – I was practically in tears and very excited and then people began to snigger because the boys had written in. This happened three times! And I fell for it every time and the second time it was written in the handwriting of a child and badly spelt and I still believed it!"

Noomi, revealing Graham was instrumental in her learning to speak fluent English so fast, says, "When I was going the press tour for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo it was a nightmare because I didn't understand what people were asking me, so I decided I need to find a way to make this language mine so I read all the time and watched TV – including your show. You could say you were my teacher."

Asked if she thought that having piercings for that role was taking preparation to extremes, she says, "I've done worse. As an actress, I do whatever I can to find the character and sometimes you need to change your body or your look. I made a decision when I was 20 that vanity would never get in the way."

Talking about the recent ban of her new movie Child 44 in Russia, Noomi says, "I just heard today and it really surprised me. It's a film – it's art that we are doing. We are bringing life to a book and to characters and for me it is very sad that it is banned."

Amanda, denying that her nipples are insured for £2-million says, "Allegedly they are but, no, it's not true. They're not worth a fiver each – I've had two children!"

All three guests talk about tattoos; Noomi, perhaps surprisingly, claims to have none, whilst Carey reveals a small one on her wrist, "I was in The Seagull when I was 21 and for a long time after I wanted to get a seagull tattoo because the play meant so much to me. I then met the director, Steve McQueen and was trying very hard to get the job in Shame and told him about the tattoo and he said, 'Well get the tattoo and you'll get the job.' I took it really seriously and went out the next morning and got it. I don't regret it at all." Adding, "But I found the idea of a tattoo parlour really intimidating so I went to Selfridges!"

Amanda, who reveals a suspiciously fake looking tattoo of Simon Cowell at the top of her thigh, says, "He's given me employment for the last nine years so I thought I would do it in his honour. He's paid my mortgage for nine years so it's the least I can do."

Reminded how horrible he was to her recently during a radio show prank, in which he rang her and told her she was to be replaced by Cheryl Cole, Amanda says, "He was outrageous.  It was absolutely horrendous. I was in so much shock that for once in my life I was completely gob-smacked, very polite and very professional. I didn't swear and I didn't slag off Cheryl Cole, it could have been a career ender for me. I took it but all I could think was, 'How am I going to walk down the red carpet and smile and wave when I've been sacked.' I completely and utterly believed it but thankfully it was a joke."

Asked about the new series of Britain's Got Talent, and some of the terrible acts, she say, "There's a lot of eccentric acts; the man who played the comb was a genius and the silent chicken did nothing and is probably now on a table with roast potatoes."

Describing the act Ruby Red as, "Like the Calendar Girls on acid," she says, "They are fantastic and I want to join them." And on the singer who got the golden buzzer while his sister was rejected, she says, "It was awful, but it make really good telly!" Defending Wendy, the speaking dog, she says, "It's definitely real!"

Jessie performs 'Say You Love Me' live in the studio before joining Graham for a chat.  Talking about her recent acquisition of a puppy, she says, "I was in a line up to meet Prince William and I know you're not meant to ask the royals any question, but I couldn't help myself, and said, 'I need you're opinion. Can I ask what puppy name I should give?'  I gave him three choices and he picked 'Stanley.'"

And finally, Graham pulls the lever on more foolhardy audience members brave enough to sit in the Red Chair.

Tashi
22 Apr 2015 12:04

Lurve Amanda's dress - and her. I'd say she's definitely in the Top 3 best reality judges.

Only TVSA members can reply to this thread. Click here to login or register.


LATEST ARTICLES

New on TV today: Wednesday 17 September 2025

Top Guns: The Next Generation begins on Nat Geo and musical comedy Electric Bloom drops on Disney+.


Genesis character portrait: Vuyo Biyela as Lizwi Phakathi

Pssst... have you heard? This new guy from the overseas has a ring in his pocket.


Bloedspoor Teasers - October 2025

There's a body in a car and Ilgaz is sure that Cinar is hiding something.


New on TV today: Tuesday 16 September 2025

The Last Rhinos: A New Hope airs on Disney+ and BBC Earth follows cutting-edge surgeons in a new series.


2025 Emmy Awards: Biggest snub, biggest win, biggest eyeroll

We love it when a plan comes together. A wrap of the wins in key categories and our special awards.


Scandal! Teasers - October 2025

Ephraim's woes at the butchery continue when a helper is put under pressure to sabotage him.


New on TV today: Monday 15 September 2025

The 2025 Emmy Awards air live and repeated on M-Net and Welcome to Plathville returns to TLC.


New on TV today: Sunday 14 September 2025

Celebrity Race Across the World returns on BBC Earth and Home Channel fires up Jamie's Easy Meals for Every Day.


New on TV today: Saturday 13 September 2025

TLC weighs in with 1000-lb Roomies and The Mommy Club 3 arrives to terrorise Mzansi Magic.


On Carte Blanche: illegal cigarettes smoke out South Africa

Blast back to lockdown when illegal cigarettes were all the rage. Now they're outselling legal ones.

LATEST SITE ACTIVITY


More activity at TVSA Central



,

LATEST SOAPIE TEASERS


,

LATEST SOAPIE TEASERS




×
×

You browser doesn't have Flash, Silverlight, Gears, BrowserPlus or HTML5 support.