I’ll take “Desperate for Cultural Relevance” for $100, Alex. Last night, the Graham Norton Show released some preview photos of their new, just-filmed show. It turns out that Prince William was a special guest, alongside some of the Earthshot Prize’s ambassadors like Cate Blanchett, Hannah Waddingham and Robert Irwin. Graham Norton basically platformed William’s busywork scheme, without anyone mentioning that William’s carbon footprint is shameful and that William travels almost exclusively by private helicopter.

The Prince of Wales has made a surprise appearance on a special Earthshot Prize edition of The Graham Norton Show. As TV host Graham was chatting with his celebrity guests Cate Blanchett, Robert Irwin and Hannah Waddingham in a pre-recorded episode tonight, William revealed himself as a surprise guest. William, who set up The Earthshot Prize in 2020, was met with joyful cheers and gasps from the audience as he became what is believed to be the first royal to sit on Graham’s famous sofa.

The show, which also featured a performance from singer Jorja Smith, will be aired tomorrow on BBC One at 10.40pm.

Before William’s reveal, Graham had been speaking with Blanchett, Earthshot Prize Council Member, Irwin, Earthshot Prize Global Ambassador and Waddingham, who hosted the 2023 Earthshot Prize Awards in Singapore, about their work. Graham then revealed that the connection between all three celebrities is The Earthshot Prize, to which he segues into William’s arrival.

While on the sofa, William discussed the origins of the Prize as well as pairing a need for urgency and optimism when it comes to tackling climate change. William is not the only royal to have appeared on a chat show, with Princess Anne appearing on The Wogan Show in 1985 and the late Prince Philip in 1986.

William’s attendance on the show comes only days after his estranged brother, Harry, appeared in the media with an interview with GQ. In the revealing 42–minute conversation, Harry said that reconciliation with his family was ‘the most important thing’ to him, but in apparent swipe at his estranged brother, he declared that ‘some people don’t want it to work out.’ There were accusations that the release of the video overshadowed an important day for the royal family as they welcomed the Sultan of Oman to Windsor. There is no immediate indication from early press materials that William referred to the comments in tomorrow’s episode.

Instead, William took to Graham’s sofa and spoke about BBC’s The Celebrity Traitors, saying: ‘I love it, the family love it. Charlotte and Louis are obsessed with it. It’s really good telly.’

He humorously added: ‘I saw Ross Kemp the day after the first episode and I couldn’t help but try – in the most appropriate way – to touch him to see what reaction I got from him. Turns out he was really jumpy!’

William spoke about what he would be if he were not set to be king, and said that he would have been a policeman or a DJ. He said: ‘I did want to be a policeman when I was younger, I thought I could make a good one. And then I went through a phase of wanting to be a DJ – I wasn’t very good.’

When it came to switching off, he revealed that he uses ‘music and film’ to wind down: ‘I love getting immersed in deep–thinking films. I like action films too, but I like something a bit different. I’m a big fan of everything Christopher Nolan does. His films are are fantastic – The Dark Knight series is psychologically dark and deep and I absolutely love that. He takes concepts that are completely out there and makes them incredibly entertaining.’

[From The Daily Mail]

This was not planned in a day because of Prince Harry’s GQ video – Norton books guests weeks and months in advance. But if you’re looking for a Harry-related angle, William probably got the idea because of Harry’s appearances on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. That’s the comparison, that’s what William was trying to copy. And Graham Norton really is one of the best talk shows in the UK – it’s a huge “get” for William that he was even allowed to yammer about Earthshot on such a popular chat show. I guess William is fine with the BBC when it suits him, huh? Anyway if the preview and photos are any indication, William has the on-screen charisma of a wood plank.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.