Graham Norton, born Graham William Walker on 4 April 1963 in Bandon, County Cork, Ireland, is an Irish actor, comedian and television presenter.

He achieved fame as a broadcaster on Britain's Channel 4 and also through his role as Father Noel Furlong in the critically acclaimed Irish television series Father Ted. Though he only appeared in three episodes, Norton's performance as Father Noel proved extremely popular with viewers. Norton is openly gay, and is one of the UK's most famous gay personalities. He has since moved from Channel 4 and done much work for the BBC, with various shows for BBC One and BBC Two, and work on BBC Radio 2. He is also the co-owner of SO Television: the company which produces his various shows.

The Graham Norton Effect was a talk show hosted by the openly gay Irish comedian Graham Norton. The program has been or is currently being aired on Comedy Central, BBC Three, Logo, Australia's The Comedy Channel, New Zealand's TV One and Canada's OUTtv. The first episode premiered on June 24, 2004, and the last on September 16 of the same year.

The Graham Norton Effect can be considered a spinoff to two previous shows hosted by Norton, including So Graham Norton (1998-2002) and V Graham Norton (2002-2003). During the last part of Graham's Channel 4 contract, Graham decided to film a new show, NY Graham Norton, in New York. The Graham Norton Effect was filmed for Comedy Central later in the year. Since this show was specifically taped for an American audience, some of the games played in the show were previously played on NY Graham Norton or V Graham Norton. (For example, a game about the world's worst bathing suits which was played in the Alan Cumming episode was originally played during a V episode with Bo Derek, tying into her movie Ten.) Also, some of the guests, who were only on NY Graham Norton a couple of months previous, appear again on the Graham Norton Effect

So Graham Norton was a British television programme, hosted by Irish personality Graham Norton. It ran from 1998 until 2002.

st: Commenting on Britney Spears and the engagement ring given to her by her fiance Yes... The ring was five carats... that's one karat for every week that they'll stay married...

aham Norton: Roses are red, violets are blue / I can't write poems, but I've been told I've many other good qualities.

mself: You sort of shocked Elvis in a way. rself: I did. I did. I did. I did. That man loved to eat, I'm telling you. He could eat a plate of chicken-fried steak this big, but there was one thing Elvis wouldn't eat.

mself}: Bringing the show to the U.S., they said I might want to get a bit of American in me. Huh, won't be the first time.

aham Norton: Yes, Boy George... just what England needs: another queen who can't dress.

mself}: Don't bother phoning, we're sorry already.

mself}: They told me that I could do anything I wanted on the show, so, uh, hey, later on I'll be having sex with one of these three dirty German girls.

Going five nights a week caused many problems for the production team, and celebrity guests were regularly "found" just hours before recording the show.

The show was recorded between 19:00 and 20:00 on the evening of transmission. However, due to studio restrictions, both Thursday's and Friday's shows were recorded on the Thursday evening.

"Betty" was a dinnerlady at Graham's drama school. She came to see the show and Graham recognized her. As a result she became a regular member of the audience although, towards the end, producers tried to include her in the show as little as possible.

July 2000: Signed a deal with McVitie's Biscuits to endorse all their product range. The deal is said to worth a six figure sum.

In 2000 he turned down a reported £5 million contract offer from the BBC. Among other things, the BBC wanted him to take over as host of "Blankety Blank" (1977).

In 1989 he was stabbed in the chest by muggers and left for dead.

First came to be noticed in the UK with his role as a Priest in the TV comedy series, "Father Ted" (1995).

Auditioned for the part of Samwise Gamgee in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The (2001)

He dropped out of University College Cork to move to San Francisco. Later he moved to London and studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama.

He grew up as Graham Walker in Bandon, County Cork, Ireland. When he won his first BAFTA in 2000, it came the week after his father died. He dedicated the award to Billy Walker at the ceremony but only his family and friends knew who he was referring to.

In the Independent on Sunday 2006 Pink List - a list of the most influential gay men and women - he came no. 36, up from no. 37.