Graham Norton fed up with being made to play gay

By Marc Shoffman • April 24, 2006 - 0:00

Graham Norton is fed up with being forced to constantly make overt references to his sexuality

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Gay TV presenter Graham Norton is fed up with being forced to constantly make overt references to his sexuality, he tells a BBC documentary.

He complains on the BBC3 programme, The Trouble With . . .Gay Men, that he is forced to make gay jokes and innuendos by straight producers.

Norton said: "I am surrounded with scores of straight producers making sure I am as gay this week as I was last week.

"So you say I don't want to do this really gay joke and they say basically you think of a better joke and then you say, alright, I will be taken up the arse one more time."

The comedian, who moved from Channel 4 to a £5 million BBC deal in 2004, has struggled to find a suitable show on the channel. His next attempt is, How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? A show with Andrew Lloyd Webber where they search for the role of Maria for a West End production of The Sound of Music.

A BBC spokeswoman said: "He is making light-hearted comments in the context of the programme which is an affectionate look at the gay community."

The documentary features interviews by Simon Fanshawe with gay personalities such as Julian Bennett, presenter of ITV1's The Jules and Lulu Show, and openly gay Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner, Brian Paddick.

The series begins this evening on BBC3 at 2100.

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