Ellen DeGeneres' appearance on The Graham Norton Show baffled fans on Friday, as they questioned why she'd been invited to appear on the presenter's sofa following her absence from the spotlight.
The star, 68, was previously the face of her self-titled talk show, but retreated from the public eye when it was cancelled in 2022, after claims of bullying emerged.
During her Graham Norton appearance, Ellen reflected on her lengthy absence from screens, admitting she 'missed' being on TV, but said she doesn't have any work lined up.
Ellen announced the end of her talk show in 2021 after an internal investigation was launched into allegations of workplace bullying.
She has since been living in The Cotswolds with her wife Portia de Rossi.
Speaking about her break from the spotlight, Ellen said: 'I've nothing really going on and I really miss being on TV. I miss a lot about it – laughing with the writers and the audience. I think about doing stuff here.'
Ellen DeGeneres' appearance on The Graham Norton Show has baffled fans, as they asked why she'd been invited to appear on the sofa following her absence from the spotlight
'I think it is pretty easy to get on TV here – you have a pottery show, you have a sewing show, and you even have a show about people watching TV shows!'
Ellen also reflected on her self-titled sitcom, which featured the first openly gay lead character on a US series.
She added: 'In the US they were not very thrilled about my character or me coming out so for it to be celebrated in London was such an honour. To be treated that way when everyone else was done with me was extraordinary.'
Given Ellen didn't appear to be promoting a new project on Graham Norton, which is typically the reason why guests appear, many viewers shared their bewilderment over her interview.
They said: 'Why does it look so awkward that Ellen DeGeneres is on The Graham Norton Show?';
'Ellen not clapping and sitting so ominously in the corner... evil beaming through the screen; Why is Ellen DeGeneres on Graham Norton?'
Ellen suffered a dramatic fall from grace when the so-called 'queen of nice' was accused by former employees of The Ellen DeGeneres Show of creating a 'toxic' workplace where racism, bullying and sexual harassment were abundant.
For almost two decades, DeGeneres closed her daily talk show the same way – with a smile and reminder to 'be kind to one another'.
Ellen appeared on Graham Norton alongside Quentin Tarantino, Colin Farrell and Gemma Chan
Given Ellen didn't appear to be promoting a new project on Graham Norton, which is typically the reason why guests appear, many viewers shared their bewilderment over her interview
But when the cameras stopped rolling, the host was not one to follow her own advice, staffers claimed.
Sources close to DeGeneres told the Daily Mail that the comedian ran her household like a bootcamp, 'laying traps' for workers, and 'always chose the opposite' of kindness when it came to her staff.
Her show continued to air after the 2020 scandal, but a company investigation and decline in ratings ultimately led to its end. The Ellen DeGeneres Show taped its final episode in 2022 after a 19-season run.
She previously told The Hollywood Reporter: 'I have to just trust that whatever happened during that time, which was obviously very, very difficult, happened for a reason.
'I think that I learned a lot, and there were some things that came up that I was shocked and surprised by. It was eye-opening, but I just trust that that had to happen.'
Ellen and her wife Portia left the United States after Trump's re-election as 47th president in November 2024.
Both she and de Rossi originally moved into an $18million house in The Cotswolds area, but the six-bedroom home was met with severe flooding due to Storm Bert.
An insider previously informed the Daily Mail: 'Ellen and Portia have had several issues with the place they initially moved into.
'First there was the flooding, of course, then there was an issue with some locals complaining about some building work carried out at the property.'
Ellen and Portia then moved to a different property which is only a 30-minute drive from the original home that they had bought.
However, an insider told The Mail on Sunday late last year that there is a possibility the couple could move back to the US, despite Trump still being in office.
And it was later revealed that Ellen and Portia purchased a $27million Montecito property last year in November.