Graham Norton Show producer Graham Stuart has shed light on how the BBC show decides where celebrities sit, revealing how the stars’ publicists battle behind-the-scenes
15:14, 22 Jan 2026Updated 15:20, 22 Jan 2026
Graham Norton is currently presenting his 33rd series of his BBC show(Image: PA)
Graham Norton Show boss Graham Stuart has revealed the “hierarchy” behind where celebrities are seated on the BBC series’ iconic red sofa. The long-running chat show sees presenter Graham welcome a famous line-up onto his set each week, from Hollywood’s Matt Damon and Jennifer Lawrence to British comedians like Alan Carr and Rob Beckett.
Fans have long wondered whether there’s a logic to where Graham’s famous guests are placed and now producer Graham Stuart has confirmed that there is – and it can cause chaos behind-the-scenes. The TV producer sent in a message to The Rest is Entertainment podcast after co-host Richard Osman asked him a question from the listeners for today’s episode.
In an answer read out by Richard on the podcast, Graham said: “Interesting question from one of your media savvy listeners. My answer can be summed up thus: welcome to showbusiness, where all stars are equal but some are more equal than others.
Richard Osman read out Graham Stuart’s message on The Rest is Entertainment(Image: )
“Media hierarchy is primarily driven by publicists and seat one, which is the seat next to Graham is the primary aim of all of them for their clients. Our sofa is so star-packed that those publicist have to work very hard to get what they want.”
Richard added that while he’s been on the Graham Norton Show numerous times, he has never been in the hot seat. “I do not have a publicist. No one ever talked to me about seat one, Graham,” he said, tongue-in-cheek.
Graham continued: “Here’s where we draw the curtain a bit. I leave it to you to imagine how long that process can take. After that, we aim to arrange the order to maximise chemistry.”
He added that the last seat on the sofa is often reserved for a “funny person” or an artist “we know will play the talk show game correctly and help create conversational flow”.
Richard interjected: “Now, by saying somebody who knows how to play the game, it’s literally somebody who’s fun in conversation and wants to hear from other people and can throw in their own things that are funny and fun but also can be sat a fair amount of distance from Graham not to be an ego issue.”
Graham Norton Show producers Graham Stuart, Jon Magnusson and director Steve Smith(Image: )
Concluding, Graham pointed out the “key factor in all of this”. He continued: “It’s the extraordinary ability of Graham Norton to ringmaster a soft furnishing-based line of giant egos. Nobody does it better.”
Discussing Graham’s answer, Richard told co-host Marina Hyde: “When Graham says ‘giant egos’ there, he’s not saying anyone’s a diva. They work in showbusiness.” He added that as a TV producer himself, he’s always impressed by how the show compares to others.
“Whenever I go on other TV shows, I’m playing a different gig to other people. I’m always watching how it’s presented and produced,” he said. “Sometimes you go on shows and you’re like, ‘Oh okay, I guess they’ll fix this in the edit.’ On that show, I’m watching the brilliance of Graham Stuart and Jon Magnusson and how brilliant Graham Norton is.”
The Graham Norton Show is currently on its 33rd series, having started airing on BBC Two in 2007. Two years later, it moved to 2009 and now typically airs between September and March every year.
The Rest is Entertainment releases episodes every Tuesday and Thursday wherever you get your podcasts.
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