Henry Cavill talks about doing his own stunts, Ruth Jones says she feels very empowered by Nessa, Rob

Brydon says the new Gavin and Stacey is the happiest job he has ever done, Daisy Ridley reveals how

emotional the last day of filming Star Wars was, and Robbie Williams performs live in the studio

On tonight’s festive show (20th December), Graham welcomes Superman himself Henry Cavill, stars of Gavin and Stacey Ruth Jones and Rob Brydon, Star Wars’ Daisy Ridley and singer songwriter Robbie Williams.

Henry, talking about his new film The Witcher, and asked about doing his own stunts, he says, “I do every single stunt myself. I have a lot of respect for the stunt performers and their craft, but if there was an emotional scene I wouldn’t ask another actor to come in a cry for me. For me, it is really important that the character exists in the action, so if I am going to take on a role like The Witcher I am going to make sure I can do all the stuff he can do. Every move that the character makes is part of the storytelling.”

Asked about working with Tom Cruise, who famously does all his very dangerous own stunts, Henry says, “When we worked on Mission Impossible one stunt I really wanted to do was the high altitude jump at the beginning of the film. I begged to do it, but Tom said, ‘We would love you to do it, but I am up there with the professionals and if I get anything even slightly wrong, they can correct it. If there are two of us up there and something goes wrong, you’ll kill everyone!’ And I was like, ‘Okay!’”

Talking about being spotted when he is out and about, he says, “It happens all the time. I haven’t seen this man ever, but he does a Lois Lane impression when I am walking my dog in the park and he screams at the top of his voice, ‘Help me! Save me Superman, save me!’ I’ve still not seen him, and he’s done it 25 times. It’s annoying, but quite funny and it’s tough not to smile.”  

Ruth, talking about the return of Gavin and Stacey 10 years after the last episode, says, “It’s crazy that it’s been so long.”

Rob interjects, “Getting everyone together was amazing. I was sure it wouldn’t happen because there was literally a two-week window. But we did and it was so lovely and so emotional. I’d seen pretty much everyone over the years, but not all together. It was the happiest job I have ever done.”

Asked about what happens in the new show, Ruth says, “We were keen to keep the warmth that was always there. You think about some spectacular story lines and we toyed with the idea of Gavin having an affair or Gavin and Stacy divorcing, but we really wanted to hold on to the heart of the original show and I hope we’ve done it,” Adding, “We had to keep it a secret for such a long time so the joy of being able to announce it was incredible.” Talking about the love she has for Nessa, she says, “I feel very empowered when I am her because she doesn’t care, she is very confident, she wears clothes I would never ever wear, and she is quite masculine – a very alpha female. As Nessa I can be as rude as I like!”

Daisy joins Graham for a chat about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the final instalment of the long running franchise.

Asked what happens in the latest movie, she says, “It’s fair to say it’s my character’s story and it ties everything together. All I can tell you is that it is basically all we love about Star Wars – good versus evil, love and finding the people you choose to be your family. There are lots of laughs and lots of tears.” Adding, “It’s insane that they’ve managed to finish off all nine films.” 

Talking about the last ever day of filming she says, “It really felt like the end and you felt it on the set. The last day was horribly emotional. I can’t remember a word of what I said in my speech because I was crying so much. It was terrible. Even JJ (Abrams) said, ‘That was embarrassing!’”

Ruth and Rob re-enact a Star Wars scene between Luke and Princess Leia as Nessa and Bryn.

Robbie performs Fairy Tales live in the studio before joining Graham for a chat about his new number one album.

Talking about the success of his career, he says, “It’s the equivalent of stretching an elastic band from Stoke to Venus! I don’t know how it happened; it’s bewildering. Your lifespan as a pop star is supposed to fizzle out when you’re about 32 and to be 45 and still doing it and still being relevant, it feels more special than it has ever felt in the whole of my career.”

Asked if he has always been a Christmas fan, he says, “I was more of a New Year’s Eve fan! When I was a kid, I loved Christmas, then when I was a teenager it was sort of euphoric and amazing and then I did too much of that and had to stop doing that. Then you were sort of left with all the blanks. You’re meant to be happy at Christmas and I wasn’t. Then I met my wife and she’s like a professional memory maker and I’ve been taken on this tidal wave of incredible memories that she creates. Now we’ve got three kids and I absolutely love it again. It’s my favourite time of year.”

And finally, Graham pulls the lever on more foolhardy audience members brave enough to sit in the Big Red Chair.

The Graham Norton Show, BBC One, Friday 20th December 10.35pm.

Pictures are available from Press Association.

Notes to editors – All quotes in this release were said during the recording of the show but won’t necessarily appear in the final version.

Graham’s New Year’s Eve (31st December 22.20pm) guests include Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Anthony Joshua, Florence Pugh, Motsi Mabuse, Stephen Graham and Melanie C.

For further information please contact Mary Collins 07769 670516 or at mary@marycollins-pr.com 

20th December 2019