'I don't want to come home'

Graham Norton has said he doesn't want to return to Britain – even though he has a prime-time Saturday-night show to come back to.

He is currently in the States, where he hopes the weekly chat show he has been hosting since June will be given a longer lease of life.

But the BBC are pinning their hopes on the comic reviving their Saturday schedules, after poaching him from Channel 4 in a deal worth around £4 million.

"The idea seemed interesting two months ago," he told the Boston Globe. "But now that we're here, we couldn't be more bored by the idea of going home."

"I'm being totally open. I want Comedy Central to pick the show up. I have no interest in going home. Of course, the BBC may be a bit upset if they read this."

His US show, The Graham Norton Effect, is due to end next month, and he was due to make his BBC1 debut later this autumn.

But his show was not part of the recent launch of the channel's new schedules, prompting speculation about the deal.

At least one pilot episode has reportedly failed to make the grade, and the BBC has admitted that any project might not air until 2005 because they need time to get such a high-profile show right.

Published: 23 Aug 2004