Graham Norton, Alan Carr and Dame Edna Top Favourite TV Hosts

(GayWebSource.com – Gay News & Press Network) – Posted by Jake Simpson – TheGayUK.com
Larger-than-life TV personality Graham Norton has been named the nation’s favourite chat show host.

CREDIT: BBC/So Television/Christopher Baines

The camp funnyman out-talked chat show royalty Michael Parkinson and Jonathan Ross to the title, in a poll of 2,000 UK adults.

Chatty Man Alan Carr, stalwart Terry Wogan and daytime duo Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby also appeared in the top ten. Dame Edna landed herself in the 19th place just before Oprah.

The study also revealed the most memorable chat show moments of all time – although most hosts would prefer to forget them.

Number one was the moment Rod Hull’s Emu attacked Michael Parkinson during a 1976 appearance, leaving Parky narked.

Runner-up was the cringe-worthy moment in 1996 when the Bee Gees took exception to Clive Anderson’s line of questioning and all three walked out.

Other memorable moments included pop diva Grace Jones slapping Russell Harty for turning his back on her and Tom Cruise’s barmy outburst on Oprah when he jumped up and down on the sofa while proclaiming his love for Katie Holmes.

A spokesman for research experts OnePoll, which conducted the study, said: “Chat shows have been an important part of TV culture for decades and remain popular despite entertainment trends.

“Graham Norton’s off-the-cuff humour, likeable personality and quality guests have seen him out-do some of the best in the business to reach the top of our poll.”

The study revealed that 54 per cent of viewers watch chat shows for the entertaining host, while 44 per cent tune in for big-name guests.

Unpredictability is another main draw of the chat show format, with 46 per cent preferring a host that goes off-script, while one in five enjoys watching guests being asked probing or controversial questions.

Despite the number of modern chat show hosts to appear in the countdown, one in three UK adults believes the quality of chat shows has declined in recent years.

Over a third think that more A-list guests would improve the format, while a quarter want more serious discussion about current events and issues.

THE TOP TWENTY CHAT SHOW HOSTS OF ALL TIME