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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Michael Segalov

Sunday with Graham Norton: ‘I squeeze in Wordle before lights out’

Graham Norton.
‘Bloody Marys are forever linked with Sundays. The spicier the better’: Graham Norton. Photograph: Christopher Baines/BBC/So Television

​​When does Sunday start? Quite early. I have to present my Virgin Radio show. I’m on air at 9.30am, so I’m out the door and on my bike by 8.45am. Sunday is my turn to get coffee for the team. While I’m there, I treat myself to a muffin. If I’m feeling fragile, I’ll nip next door for vegan sausage rolls instead.

After work? I finish at 12.30, which is deliberate – it means I can still meet up with friends for lunch. Sometimes my husband, Jono, will join me at a dog-friendly Borough Market restaurant. In summer we might have people over: heat means you can offer salad, about all I can face making after work.

Bloody Mary Cocktail Isolated on White Background

Is it a religious day? As a child it was. We always went to church, one might say religiously. I’ve never known boredom like it. Time in church seems to pass differently, by which I mean slowly. One of adulthood’s greatest joys is never having to go again.

Do you drink? I don’t associate any other day of the week with a specific drink, but Bloody Marys, the spicier the better, are forever linked with Sundays. It would never cross my mind to order one at any other time.

What are you listening to? The work playlist is dominated by jangly guitars, so at home I like to mix it up. I just watched a brilliant documentary about Roberta Flack and have become obsessed by her voice.

A special Sunday? I feel honour-bound to say our wedding weekend last year… but it is also true. A bunch of our friends and family were in our garden in West Cork, the weather was freakishly good, and as the sun set and the music got louder I was finally able to relax and enjoy it all. Nothing had gone wrong, in fact everything had gone better than we dared hope.

Last thing you look at on your phone? I’ve done a pretty good job of weaning myself off my phone; leaving Twitter was a gamechanger. But, if it is after midnight, I will squeeze in the next day’s Wordle before lights out. I sometimes wait up especially.

Graham Norton hosts and commentates on the Eurovision Grand Final, at 8pm on 13 May on BBC One and iPlayer

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