Graham Norton viewers surprised after Prince William reveals unexpected side

Andy Burnham wasn’t the only member of the British state who made a shock TV appearance this Friday.

Yes, while the PM scoffed crisps and chatted about Strictly with a pal, on BBC One Prince William was getting comfortable on Graham Norton’s couch.

The man who would be king joined Hannah Waddingham, alongside Hollywood legend Cate Blanchett, conservationist Robert Irwin and singer Jorja Smith on Norton’s couch.

So what did the Prince’s future subjects, the great British public, make of his appearance?

Well, for the most part, they seem to be pleasantly surprised by how funny the heir to the throne is.

‘Maybe Prince William should appear more often on talk shows coz dude is actually quite funny,’ wrote @sunflowroceans.

Isa was similarly enthusiastic, writing that they wish William would do more talk shows so people could see ‘how charismatic and funny’ he is, before adding they liked how he had no problem laughing at himself.

Kayleigh Walters meanwhile said they thought this was one of the best Graham Norton episodes in a while.

‘Just caught up on this on iPlayer and it was brilliant! William just took everything in his stride and was very relaxed, and you could see he was having fun,’ they wrote.

Natalie Hood probably summed up the general feeling best when she wrote: ‘I didn’t appreciate how witty Prince William actually is.’

Of course, not everyone was dazzled by William. CricketCatMeow claimed Will wasn’t funny at all, while Ashley McLoone said he made the episode boring.

I guess even princes have their critics.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, William is the first member of the royal family to ever be a guest on The Graham Norton Show.

While chatting, the heir to the throne couldn’t help but profess his passion for Celebrity Traitors, which took a dramatic turn last night when James Acaster refused to help his fellow Traitors Maya Jama and King Kenny during their devious mission.

Prince William, 44, has made it no secret that he’s a fan of the show, having previously rinsed TV hardman Ross Kemp over his paranoia about being murdered. 

And two of his three children are just as obsessed with the programme that’s taken the nation by storm, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis – although whether his eldest child, Prince George, is as keen remains a mystery.

In the pre-recorded chat, Prince William raved about Celebrity Traitors, saying: ‘I love it, the family love it. Charlotte and Louis are obsessed with it.  It’s really good telly.’

Recalling his recent meet-up with EastEnders star Ross, 62, he 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!’

During last night’s episode of Celebrity Traitors, numerous fans pointed out the painful irony of Ross being murdered in plain sight, after being so overly paranoid that he would be murdered in that way, previously accusing Bella Ramsey and Leigh-Anne Pinnock of coming after him.

If he were in the game, would Prince William play as a Faithful, or would he be selected to target the other players as a Traitor? We’ll leave you to mull over that scenario.

The prince also explained that he uses music and film to switch off, and is especially drawn to ‘deep-thinking’ films, like those made by director Christopher Nolan.

‘I’m a big fan of everything Christopher Nolan does. His films 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,’ he said.

Prince William also revealed the career aspirations he’d thought about when he was younger, if he hadn’t been destined to become King one day.

‘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,’ he admitted.

Prince William came on the BBC show to highlight The Earthshot Prize, an environmental prize awarded at Kensington Palace that originally launched in 2021, two years after he announced it.

‘For many years I was hearing stories about environmental issues, and one thing that struck me was the negativity and doom which got me down. I thought we could do something more powerful and more optimistic, and the idea of an awards ceremony came about, and we could talk about urgency and optimism together. It’s all about getting excited,’ he said.

‘There are some amazing people out there doing things to protect the world.  We could really highlight what is being done and scale them to the next level to have more impact around the world.’

The Graham Norton Show is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.

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