Bid to lure younger viewers

Graham Norton’s chat show is to move from BBC Two to BBC One in the autumn, to increase his profile on the channel.

Jay Hunt, the channel’s controller said the show would be slightly tweaked for the flagship channel to reinforce Norton’s reputation as a family entertainer.

But she insisted he was not being lined up to replace Jonathan Ross, who remains under tight tabloid scrutiny since the phone calls he made with Russell Brand.

Hunt told a Broadcasting Press Guild lunch: ‘Graham is a very sophisticated entertainer and is fantastically good at engaging with audiences. He’s not going to have a mandate saying, “Let your hair down, mate and be incredibly rude.”’

Norton’s show is expected to sit in a 10.35pm weekday slot, after the news, in a bid to attract younger viewers.

Published: 2 Jun 2009