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Graham Norton to join Virgin Radio

By | Published on Tuesday 17 November 2020

Graham Norton

When Graham Norton announced that he was leaving his Saturday morning show on BBC Radio 2 last week, you probably didn’t give too much thought to what he was moving onto next.

Fair enough, he’s a busy guy, with all those telly shows, he can’t do everything, you probably thought, he just needs a bit more space in his schedule. Well, it turns out you’re right. He’s far too busy to do one show a week on Radio 2, because now he’s doing two on Virgin Radio.

Starting next year, Norton will host the afternoon show on Saturday and Sunday over at Virgin Radio UK. It may not offer the same large number of listeners as Radio 2 but, as Chris Evans will tell you, the money is good.

“I am excited and a little surprised to be joining Virgin Radio UK in 2021”, says Norton. “I was very content where I was but the opportunity to host shows across the weekend seemed too good to miss out on. Plus the energy and enthusiasm at Virgin Radio are infectious and I can’t wait to get started! Did I mention the studios are very close to my house?”

Virgin Radio UK Content Director Mike Cass adds: “Graham Norton is one of very few truly unique talents in broadcasting. I’m delighted to be welcoming him to the Virgin Radio family in the new year. He’ll be bringing double the wit, double the banter and double the love across Saturday and Sunday”.

Also, the studios are very close to his house. Remember that. Virgin Radio, of course, was relaunched by News UK back in 2018, and has enjoyed a respectable growth in listeners since then, although it’s market share is still pretty modest. When Evans left Radio 2 for Virgin that same year, the majority of his ten million listeners at the BBC chose not to follow him. It remains to be seen if a sizeable chunk of Norton fans can be enticed with the promise of two helpings a week.



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