Graham Norton has revealed he told pop icon Taylor Swift she ‘made his dreams come true’ by asking him to appear in her nineties-themed music video for Opalite.
The presenter, 63, said the singer, 36, got the idea when sitting on his chat show red sofa for an interview, alongside Cillian Murphy, Greta Lee, Jodie Turner-Smith, Domhnall Gleeson, and Lewis Capaldi.
Graham shared: ‘I said to Taylor at the time, often in your 60s you begin to give up on your dream of appearing in a major pop video, but she made it happen for me… So, all in all, a really great experience.’
He added: ‘I got an email saying Taylor Swift’s people were interested in doing something, and I said, “What the hell is that going to be?” Taylor had been on the show, and there were great vibes, and she literally got the idea when Domhnall Gleeson said he would like to dance in a Taylor Swift video.
‘I didn’t notice at the time, but when you look back at the clip, you can see her little face go. She went away and wrote up that whole mad story and asked us all to be in it. Surprise surprise, we all said yes!’
The Nineties-themed video, released in February, stars Domhnall, 42, as the love interest for Taylor’s character.
The storyline initially follows their surreal relationships – Domhnall’s with a cactus and Taylor’s with a rock – before the two meet with the help of a ‘magical’ spray bottle labelled Opalite.
Graham Norton has revealed he told pop icon Taylor Swift she ‘made his dreams come true’ by asking him to appear in her nineties-themed music video for Opalite
‘I didn’t notice at the time, but when you look back at the clip, you can see her little face go. She went away and wrote up that whole mad story and asked us all to be in it’, Graham said
Graham appears in a scene promoting another spray, while Cillian, 49, is pictured in an advert for Opalite.
Lewis, 29, plays a photographer, while actresses Greta, 42, and Jodie, 39, are seen on retro TV screens.
Graham was speaking at a Q&A for his new ITV reality show The Neighbourhood.
The Neighbourhood will see families living on a real street compete in a series of ruthless, backstabbing challenges for a £250,000 prize.
While some contestants go for a ruthless strategy, others try to sweeten up their neighbours and form alliances on the street. The aim is to try and eliminate one another without becoming unpopular enough to get the axe themselves.
Best known for his long-running talk show and A-list interviews, host Graham admitted he couldn’t turn down the opportunity to front the series – one of his first major projects away from the BBC.
He added how he was devoted to the show and stayed in the Peak District for three weeks during filming last year. He lived in a temporary home just off the set and production set up TV’s so he could watch the contestants 24/7.
‘That was my day. I would eat crisps, watch it all going on, and was very over caffeinated. There’s something about listening to conversations you shouldn’t be,’ he said.
Graham will be at the centre of the show’s drama, keeping tabs on the cast through a WhatsApp group chat.
He added: ‘If things were kicking off, I was very much in the background watching it on telly, letting it play out. The closest thing to consoling is I would say goodbye kindly.’
Graham revealed Taylor got the idea when sitting on his red sofa for an interview, with Cillian Murphy, Greta Lee, Jodie Turner-Smith, Domhnall Gleeson, and Lewis Capaldi (seen)
The Nineties-themed video, released in February, stars Domhnall, 42, as the love interest for Taylor’s character
Graham appears in a scene promoting another spray, while Cillian (pictured), 49, is pictured in an advert for Opalite
Speaking about the impressive set, he added: ‘It’s a real neighbourhood. There are almost 200 cameras. I’ve never worked on anything of this size or scale before because they are filmed 24/7.
‘It felt like being in a movie. The eliminations are brutal. It gets quite heightened and big.’
When asked about his personal experience with neighbours and if he has had any fallouts, Graham responded: ‘Yes of course, but not that they know. I would quietly seethe about neighbours.
‘It is that weird, forced relationship. You don’t pick your neighbours; you can’t choose them. Whoever moves in, moves in. You’ve got to find a way to get on with them.
‘But equally, we all fall out with people, but I would never make it known.’
The Neighbourhood starts Friday April 24 at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX
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