Chatshow king Graham Norton plans drastic career change away from BBC

Chat show legend Graham Norton is venturing into the film industry with his next big project co-writing and producing a romantic comedy. Industry insiders reveal that his company, So Television, and production firm Tiger Mountain are joining forces for this UK-Irish movie, which is set to start filming later this year.

The man behind the camera will be Dan Mazer, one of the screenwriters of 2016's Bridget Jones' Baby and the upcoming fourth movie in the series, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy that is due for release on Valentine's Day next year.

A reliable source spoke about Graham and Dan's new project: "The film has been financed by Sky and will be shot in Ireland in July and August. It has not been an easy road to get to this point, and the team at So, who are learning as they go, have found getting movies made is much harder than they expected."

"But this is a really exciting project and everyone has high hopes for it now the ball is really rolling. Talks are ongoing with some high-profile actors who would really make the script come alive."

Graham Norton

This thrilling move towards the big screen follows Graham's successful conversion of his novel, Holding, into an ITV series earlier this year, featuring Conleth Hill and Siobhan McSweeney. Even though the Dublin-born celebrity didn't produce the series, he made sure to ask the production team to avoid any unnecessary Irish cliches, reports the Mirror.

Remembering the conversation, Graham revealed: "Whenever I felt it was too Irish, I was going, 'No. You've got Irish actors, you're filming in West Cork. It's Irish enough... we get it'."

Graham is no stranger to the world of movies, having appeared in cameo roles as himself in Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie, the 2020 comedy The Stand In and this year's hit romantic comedy The Idea of You, starring Anne Hathaway. He also provided the voice of one of the characters in Pixar's 2020 animated movie Soul.

He will also continue to host his popular BBC chat show, but Graham announced earlier this year thay he would be replaced on Virgin Radio, with fans now preparing for a new voice on air. The popular media personality recently called time on his 13-year position at the station, confessing he's craving his "weekends back".

Over the years, the beloved host has come to be regarded as a Saturday morning staple with millions tuning in to enjoy his programme. But in March, he dropped the bombshell to his faithful following that he was set for "one last gallop around the paddock" before retiring his microphone.