Norton heads for New York

Graham Norton is to continue his assault on the American market by hosting his Channel 4 chat show live from New York.

He will follow that up with another run of live stand-up dates in Manhattan.

V Graham Norton, which is also aired on BBC America in the States, will come from the Big Apple for a week from March 31.

Then, on April 22, he performs a three-week run at the East 13th Street Theater in the East Village, where he is billed as "the man who put the 'out' in 'outrageous'".

The $40-a-head show follows his sell-out run in a fringe venue last September, his American debut.

Norton said: "I can't wait to get to the Big Apple - I've always been partial to a large fruit."

"We've always wanted to take the show over to New York, I love America, and I love American guests too

"So those stars that say 'Oh, I'd love to do your show, but I can't come all the way over to England' are going to get a bit of a shock when we pop up and say 'Here we are'. They won't have an excuse.

"We ever announce guests in advance. But if God is good, and the names we have on the board stay on the board, we've got a week of really, really big guests

"The Americans should sort of know what to expect. The programme's been shown on BBC America, so it's not like performing to a completely cold audience.

"Hopefully most of those people who actually turn up to watch the show will do so because they've seen it before and liked it. But it's difficult to know what to expect from them. America's a very odd place - in some ways they're very prudish, but in others they're completely out there.

"I guess I'll know a lot more after the week has finished, but I think it'll be a fascinating experience. And I must say I'm particularly excited about performing in front of an audience with good teeth."

Published: 21 Mar 2003