Graham Norton has disclosed the one demand Taylor Swift made before appearing on his BBC chat show last October. The pop superstar, who recently married, joined the line-up of The Graham Norton Show at the very last minute to promote her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl.
No One Was Bumped
In an interview with GQ, Norton explained that Swift was 'a very last-minute booking.' The show was already fully booked, and the team initially considered dropping another guest to accommodate her. However, Norton said: 'Word came back from Taylor: no one must be bumped.'
As a result, the red sofa was notably crowded that night, with Swift joining an eclectic mix of celebrities. Norton described it as 'a good show to be on because everyone ended up in the Opalite music video. Everyone!'
Music Video Cameo
The full roster of guests from that episode later appeared in the music video for Swift's track 'Opalite,' which was released in February. The video featured Irish actor Cillian Murphy, Lewis Capaldi, Domhnall Gleeson, Greta Lee, and Jodie Turner-Smith, along with Norton himself.
Swift revealed that the idea for the video came during the show, after Gleeson 'made a light-hearted joke about wanting to be in one of [her] music videos.' She said she was 'instantly struck with an idea' and thought it 'would be wild if all of our fellow guests on the Graham Norton show that night, including Graham himself, could be a part of it too.' She praised Norton as 'insanely charismatic and loveable.'
School Group Project for Adults
Swift described the experience as 'like a school group project but for adults and it isn't mandatory.' She added: 'To my delight, everyone from the show made the effort to time travel back to the 90s with us and help with this video.' She noted that she 'got ridiculously lucky with the group [she] was paired with, as they were all people whose work [she's] admired from afar.'
Wedding Invitation
Following the sofa appearance, Swift invited Norton to her wedding at Madison Square Garden in New York. The event made headlines and stirred controversy.
