Review

Hillary Clinton on The Graham Norton Show: no Paxman-style grilling, but the Democrat radiated grandmotherly charm

Hillary Clinton on The Graham Norton Show
Hillary Clinton on The Graham Norton Show Credit: PA

There was a time when the idea of Hillary Clinton parking up on Graham Norton’s marmalade couch to swap zingers with the BBC titan of chat would have seemed barkingly fanciful. But we no longer live in that time, as Clinton will attest having last year lost the US Presidency to a former reality television star. 

Securing Clinton as guest was a huge coup for Norton. Yet there were grounds for worrying whether his frothy persona was quite the right fit for a political giant who, depending on the context, can come across earnest, wooden or light-bulb blowingly brilliant. Arranging for Hillary to introduce the broadcast – “Good evening everyone, my name is Hillary Rodham Clinton and this is the Graham Norton Show – sent further alarm bells clanging, largely because she didn’t appear entirely sure how to pronounce “Graham” (she opted for “Gram”, then changed her mind halfway through). 

The most crushing disappointment of all, however, was that Clinton would be on the couch on her own during her pre-recorded segment, with auxiliary banterers Jack Whitehall, Gerard Butler and Jeff Goldblum corralled in a celebrity pen until she had done her bit. Thus we were deprived the sight of this almost leader of the free world squeezed alongside a former host of Celebrity Big Brother’s Big Mouth and the angry chap who ran around with his shirt off in 300. Life can be so unfair sometimes. 

The actual interview was a respectable day at the office for both interrogator and subject. After working his initial giddiness out of his system, Norton settled down long enough to ask Clinton, in town promoting her memoir of the 2016 Presidential election, What Happened, some vaguely insightful questions. Had she, for instance, tried to wriggle out of attending Donald Trump’s inauguration? Yes – until she discovered George W Bush and Jimmy Carter were both going. Meanwhile, Hillary, so often mocked in America for her lack of spontaneity, was winningly sharp and snappy. 

This being a Friday evening light entertainment show the first topic of conversation naturally wasn’t the North Korean nuclear programme or Russian electoral interference but her recently fractured toe. Hillary had sustained the injury when she slipped carrying a coffee down a flight of stairs, requiring her to cancel appearances on ITV’s This Morning and Woman’s Hour on Radio 4.

Graham Norton, Jeff Goldblum, Gerard Butler and Jack Whitehall
Graham Norton, Jeff Goldblum, Gerard Butler and Jack Whitehall Credit: PA

However, she made it to Norton’s couch and took a moment to praise the standard of health care she had received in London. Awaiting her was a presenter eager to figuratively tickle her under the chin but in no way up for conducting a Paxman-grade grilling. 

Jeff Goldblum and Gerard Butler
Jeff Goldblum and Gerard Butler Credit: PA

Norton didn’t, for instance, quiz Clinton about her connections to the disgraced Harvey Weinstein, a prominent supporter of both Bill and Hillary (Hillary has previously said she was “appalled” by Weinstein’s behaviour and would pass on his donations to charity) . It seemed an obvious question in the light of her statement, toward the end of the interview, that she would campaign to ensure women were no longer physically menaced, as she had been by Trump in the US Presidential debates (when he had loomed ominously behind her). 

Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton Credit: PA

Yet if Norton’s hard news credentials were hardly enhanced, Hillary came well out of proceedings. She radiated grandmotherly charm as she relayed – for the umpteenth time on her promotional tour – the anecdote about the young woman who had stumbled upon her walking in the woods with Bill and tearfully requested a hug (and selfie). And she clearly had fun twisting the knife into Trump, describing his “American carnage” inauguration speech as “dark and divisive.” If only someone had told her how to say “Graham” properly –  it would have been a five star performance from the slick but likeable politician. 

License this content