Graham Norton Recalls Experience of Hosting Carrie Fisher’s Final Interview

American TV audiences might be more familiar with names like Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon and Steven […]

November 9, 2017, 5:02pm

American TV audiences might be more familiar with names like Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon and Steven Colbert, but when it comes to late night TV in the UK, Graham Norton reigns supreme. The talk show host is approaching the 20th anniversary of The Graham Norton Show and recently revealed some of his most memorable experiences in his career to This Morning, including what would become Carrie Fisher‘s last interview.

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Norton and Fisher had become close friends over the years, with that connection making it even harder to come to terms with the fact that she has passed.

“She’s someone who wasn’t in my life all of the time, y’know, she would pop into London or I’d be in America and we’d see each other, it has taken a long time to kind of figure out she has gone,” Norton explained.

He continued, “It was extraordinary, because it transpired that it was her final interview. And you know that thing where you’re like ‘OH, if we had known! I wish we’d done a better job’ because you just think oh, she’ll be back in a minute. It was such a shock.”

“You sort of thought, that can’t be the end of Carrie Fisher.”

While the experience was clearly one Norton will never forget, it’s an experience that almost never happened in the first place.

“She was ill and I feel bad talking about it because then it’s as if we knew,” Norton shared. “We didn’t, she was just a bit under the weather. She was sick.”

The interview occurred two weeks before Fisher passed away, with her illness seemingly being unrelated to her passing.

“She did nearly cancel and then she thought ‘Oh, Graham will be nice to me’, so she got herself in a car, got herself in the studio and got through the show,” Norton recalled. “We just thought ‘get well soon’ and then when we heard the news of the heart attack, [we all] thought that was terrible. You sort of thought, that can’t be the end of Carrie Fisher. She was such a life force. She was so larger than life.”

The Affair in a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Of the many notable things that were discussed in her final interview, Fisher hinted at the relationship she had with Harrison Ford, details of which she elaborated on in her last book, The Princess Diarist.

During the interview, Norton mentions the reveal of the affair from the book, with Fisher expressing that she hadn’t realized it would be such a big deal. She had referenced their relationship when in the presence of Ford, who would merely grumble. She was unaware that it would become such a talking point for Ford for the rest of his life.

Ford will be interview by Norton this weekend to promote his latest film, Blade Runner 2049, but the affair is a topic he didn’t plan on coming anywhere close to discussing.

“You know he’s not going to talk about it,” Norton confessed. “He’s just going to go ‘I have no comment.’ And he’ll shut down. I think it’s my job to keep the conversation flowing. I’m not a journalist. Who cares? I’m not the police. I’m not there to interrogate.”