Claudia Winkleman wins huge praise after stepping in to host 'The Graham Norton Show'
With its long-running host fronting his new tour in Australia, Claudia Winkleman has won huge praised after stepping in to host ‘The Graham Norton Show’.
Claudia Winkleman has won huge praise after stepping in to host ‘The Graham Norton Show’.
‘The Traitors’ host, 53, took the job as Graham, 61, is embarks on an Australian tour to present his ‘An Evening With Graham Norton’ across the country – a live show featuring anecdotes from his career and a question and answer session with audiences.
Claudia opened her run on the BBC One show on Friday (28.02.25) by telling fans: “I am so sorry Graham isn’t here. To be honest, nobody is more livid than me.
“That is the horrendous news. The brilliant news is that we have excellent guests.”
The presenter, who recently spoke about her battle with myopia, is set to fill in for Graham until the autumn.
Claudia’s guest line-up included comedian Rob Beckett, 38, actor Toby Jones, 57, 'Derry Girls' star Saoirse-Monica Jackson, 30, and 44-year-old Hollywood actor Chris Pratt.
Viewers shared their reactions on social media platform X, with many praising Claudia’s performance.
One user said: “Claudia Winkleman needs her own chat show. She’s definitely holding her own here while Graham is away.”
Another posted: “Graham could be out of a job soon, Claudia’s marvellous.”
But not all viewers were convinced, with one saying online: “F- sake! Claudia Winkleman again!? Sick of seeing the same BBC luvvies on the gravy train.”
Following the success of BBC’s ‘The Traitors’, Claudia was invited to present the chat show in Graham’s absence. Reacting to the announcement, she said: “I apologise in advance!”
And speaking about the popularity of ‘The Traitors’, she added: "I feel about ‘Traitors’ like people feel about an offspring – you're so glad when people love it.
“I can’t say much, but the producers are so clever, and there are lots of twists and turns coming.”
In December, Claudia discussed her worsening eyesight on Gabby Logan’s ‘The Mid Point’ podcast, revealing she has undergone multiple procedures for myopia.
She added: “I’ve had lens replacement. I’ve had so many operations on my eyes.
“I had a lens replacement in my left eye because my astigmatism was so bad I was minus 16, but that was 14 years ago.”
She explained that her vision has now shifted from short-sightedness to long-sightedness, saying: “Then I had a little fiddle with (it), but because I was so short-sighted, by then fixing it I'm now long-sighted, so I can’t really read any more.
“I can with glasses – I've got plus-2.5 – but I can't read ‘The Bee Sting’ with those glasses and that light.”
