Viewers baffled over Ellen DeGeneres' 'awkward' Graham Norton appearance after disappearing from spotlight

Having barely been seen in the public eye in recent years, Ellen DeGeneres appeared on British telly last night on The Graham Norton Show.

The former talk show host confessed she misses ‘being on TV’ after her long-running show was cancelled in 2022.

Ellen moved to the UK after that, in 2024, with her wife, Portia de Rossi, so she’s had plenty of time to immerse herself in British TV culture.

But while she spoke about having ‘nothing really going on’, Graham Norton viewers were too busy finding it ‘awkward to watch’.

And that partly is because unlike her fellow guests, Quentin Tarantino, Colin Farrell and Gemma Chan, she didn’t actually have anything to plug. She was just simply, there, talking about things she seemingly wants to do.

The Ellen Show ended in 2022. (James Devaney/GC Images)

Ellen on Graham Norton

While the other guests spoke about their upcoming projects, Ellen confessed: “I’ve nothing really going on and I really miss being on TV.”

The 68-year-old’s talk show came to an end after 19 seasons amid allegations of an unhealthy and ‘toxic work environment’ which she later followed with an apology to staffers.

The American said there ‘a lot’ she missed about the industry, such as ‘laughing with the writers and the audience’. She went on to say that she does think about doing stuff in the UK.

Ellen joked: “I think it is pretty easy to get on tv here – you have a pottery show, you have a sewing show, and you even have a show about people watching tv shows!”

Her appearance left some viewers baffled. (BBC/PA Wire)

‘Awkward’ appearance

Quite a few viewers were baffled to see Ellen on the show altogether, regardless of the fact she didn’t necessarily seem to be promoting anything. Although, some fans were pleased to see her back on TV.

“Why does it look so awkward that Ellen DeGeneres is on The Graham Norton Show?,” one wrote.

Some even queried if she’d paid as a fan to be on the BBC show as one X user called it a ‘random guest choice’.

“I didn’t expect Ellen DeGeneres to rock up on The Graham Norton Show last night. She was pretty much cancelled and retired to the English Countryside the last time I heard,” another put.

While many were simply asking: “Why is Ellen Degeneres on Graham Norton?”

“why tf is ellen degeneres on the graham norton show tonight ???” another put.

Well, it seems the answer to that, for now anyway, is that she just misses being on the telly.