| Child benefit: how it compares across the world Countries around the world use child benefit payments as a tool in an effort to fend off the looming financial burden of an ageing population. telegraph.co.uk |
Sir Philip aghast at government waste A review into government spending by Topshop owner Sir Philip Green says no business could survive the level of waste he has found. bbc.co.uk |
Simon Jenkins interview: 'There are things to learn from Disney' The National Trust's chairman is happy as long as visitor numbers are rising. telegraph.co.uk |
The Graham Norton Show: Safe on the sofa First Friday night as you-know-who's replacement, And unlike Jonathan Ross, the show's not all about himSo, it's Graham Norton's first Friday night as you-know-who's replacement; he's probably got in some pretty special guests for the big occasion ... Oh, there's a gobby Welsh lass who used to be a chatshow host herself, a TV panel-show whore and an actor no one's ever heard of (well, someone probably has, but she's not as famous as her brother).Compare that with Jonathan Ross's final programme in July; he had a Hollywood hell-raiser, a martial arts legend, and the most famous sports person in the world. Three nil to Ross.Except that Mickey Rourke was weird and boring, Jackie Chan was just weird, and David Beckham smiled and squeaked. Not that it was really about them, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross was always really about Jonathan Ross.And Graham's gobby Welsh lass is national treasure Charlotte Church. The TV panellist is comedian Russell Howard, he's funny. And who cares who Maggie Gyllenhaal is, she's beautiful and brings a touch of Hollywood class to the whole thing. I'm not saying that Charlotte doesn't ... well OK, I am.Anyway, Graham's people are keen to point out that he isn't Jonathan's replacement. This is his own show, which used to be on a Monday, moved to the Friday slot. Backstage, Graham's publicity lady struggles to remember who his predecessor was: "what's his name ... Jonathan" she says, not quite convincingly.I'm here in person in the studio where it's recorded on the Thursday evening. It will be interesting to see what makes the final edit. Some of the spur-of-the-moment off-the-cuff stuff is the best. Like when a woman in the audience has to go out, to the loo presumably. "Now your bum's on television, was it really worth it?" says Graham.There's a little bit of audience humiliation, but it's very gentle. It's the same with the guests - Graham teases and tickles, but not to the point where it gets uncomfortable. Crucially, he gives them time and space to be themselves. Charlotte's bold and bawdy, the song she sings is nice. Russell is proper funny and steals the show. Even poor Maggie does her best, gracefully lowering herself towards the level of these coarse British and Irish louts. If a talkshow is about finding out about the guests, then this is better than what you got with Ross.When the news came out, that Norton would be taking Ross's slot, it was hard to get excited. He was the obvious choice but maybe they could have made a bit of an effort, got him a new sofa maybe, even an A-list arse to sit on it.Ever so slightly underwhelming then. Safe even (can it really be that someone who does C-word gags and talks so casually about anal sex on television has become part of the establishment?). But even if the show does lack surprises, it's slick and sparkly. He gets the best from his guests, and he's very funny.I think that Norton's trajectory has been similar to Jamie Oliver's. At first he was a breath of fresh air. Then the novelty wore off, his ubiquity became tedious, the endless ooh-er filthy innuendo tiresome. Now we're reached stage three: time to admit, yeah, he's actually pretty bloody good at what he does.TelevisionJonathan RossSam Wollastonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Ocado expanding to the South West Ocado to start delivering to homes in the south west of England and south Wales from March of next year. bbc.co.uk |