You have to create your BEST LIFE'

Graham Norton reveals the lessons he was taught in lockdown and why he’s happy being single

- VICKI POWER

Graham Norton seems like a social butterfly. A fan of white wine and dinners out, he’s ebullient and funny and – until recent events forced us indoors – very much the life and soul of the party. And so Graham’s had a shock during lockdown.

‘The biggest lesson has been realising that I’m not as social as I thought I was,’ says Graham. ‘It’s just odd. I haven’t missed anything. It makes me think I maybe shouldn’t live in London because all those things people do in London, I’ve not missed any of them.

I think I’m like a lot of people who have realised, I can’t spend any money and everything in my life is still all right.’

Graham spent lockdown alone at his house in London’s Docklands with his elderly Labradoodle, Bailey. He suffered an enormous loss last Christmas, he reveals, however. Graham’s beloved terrier, Madge, died, an even that, after much deliberation, he decided not to announce publicly on social media.

‘There was a moment when I thought, do I post about Madge? And then I thought, why would I? Would I be doing it for likes? That’s weird. So I thought, no, this is a private thing.