Graham Norton guest he once called his 'worst ever' has been on the couch many times

Whether you’re fan or not, Graham Norton’s chat show has been making celebrities and audiences laugh for years.

But there is one person who the talk show host isn’t particularly keen on having back on his couch, even though the person has made quite a few appearances.

You might be shocked to find out who the ‘worst person’ Norton has ever spoken to on the show is after making a living from chatting to celebs for years.

So, who is it?

BBC

Sadly, it’s none other than one of the greatest actors in Hollywood: Robert De Niro.

According to the host, De Niro was a somewhat ‘benign’ presence on the show, failing to entertain Norton and the audience in the same way that he does on the big screen.

Norton explained at the Cheltenham Literature Festival a few years ago that the ‘last time he started telling a story – he went on and on.’

He said: "We were all leaning in, willing it to be amazing... then he finally went, ‘why am I telling this?’ Nobody had an answer. We cut it."

Even though De Niro has had a legendary acting career with his films throughout the decades, it’s his inability to engage in entertaining conversation which puts him in the spot for the worst guest.

After all, talk shows thrive on lively chatter.

But after watching the clip above, can you see how bored the sofa looks as Norton struggles to egg on the actor?

BBC

Even though the actor has been on The Graham Norton Show quite a few times to promote his movies, his lack of storytelling put him to shame.

However, last year Norton changed his mind about who his worst guest was, with the TV favourite now saying convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein is his least favourite celeb he's interviewed.

Norton described how Weinstein emailed Norton saying he wanted to be on the chat show, but it was already fully booked.

"He e-mailed back: 'What if I blah de blah de blah'. [I replied] 'No, the show is fully booked, blah de blah'," Norton continued.

BBC

The host said: "And he e-mailed back again, 'But I think...', and I just had to turn to my booker and say 'Can you please deal with this?'

"And at the time, I thought that sort of attitude, that kind of 'Oh no, I'm going on [the show]', that is what makes you a very good producer.

"But of course, now that we know what we know, that is what makes him a predator.

"It was that kind of weird, tunnel-vision thing. And it was sort of chilling in retrospect, because I was just laughing at those emails. But you realise 'Oh my God, that is an insight into how that man is'."

Clearly, a criminal is worse than a boring storyteller.

Topics: TV and Film, BBC, Graham Norton, Robert De Niro

Britt Jones