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Graham Norton has opened up about how he experienced the AIDS epidemic, which saw the “great loss” of a close friend.
The BBC presenter, 61, revealed that he arrived in San Francisco, California, just after the city decided to close all ‘saunas and sex clubs’ in the early 1980s.
Speaking to Jack Guinness on the Queerphoria podcast, he shared: ‘The fear of AIDS had taken over San Francisco.
“So, for me, that was a much scarier place (than London), funnily enough. And then when I got to London, it was just starting to appear.
The Irish chat show host recalled how there were signs saying ‘don’t sleep with someone with an American accent’ in a gay club in London.
Graham Norton has opened up about how he experienced the AIDS epidemic, which saw the “great loss” of a close friend.
The BBC presenter, 61, revealed that he arrived in San Francisco, California, just after the city decided to close all ‘saunas and sex clubs’ in the early 1980s.
He also recalled that “people were just disappearing” from his social circle during the outbreak, but the disappearances really hit home the hardest when he lost a “really good friend.”
“I remember mutual friends sitting me down and telling me Sid was sick,” Graham said.
‘He was the big loss for me and for our little circle, he was the one who really made you think “Oh my God.”
“And it all came back to us when we got to Covid, that you have to take responsibility for yourself and in doing so, you take responsibility for other people.”
He continued: ‘No matter how tolerant the parents are and how much they love you and how much they don’t care that you are gay and support you in all your gay relationships, they are being robbed.
‘As parents, they had the expectation of being able to dance at your wedding one day.
‘Obviously, it’s great for us, we can get married. But it’s great for all the people who love you to be able to share those things that for decades they thought could never happen.’
Graham married Scottish filmmaker Jonathan McLeod in July 2022 in his hometown of West Cork, Ireland.
The BBC presenter, 61, married Scottish filmmaker Jonathan McLeod in July 2022 in his hometown of West Cork, Ireland (seen in New York in May 2024).
Jono is a filmmaker recognized by BAFTA Scotland for his work (pictured with Lulu and Alan Cummings in 2022 at the premiere of My Old School).
She announced the news of her marriage the following year, which took her fans by surprise due to the private nature of their relationship.
Graham and Jono married at Bantry House in Ireland after opting for an Irish wedding to accommodate the former’s mother, Rhoda.
The lavish ball was held in her native west Cork with 120 guests in attendance and was rumored to feature music icon Lulu performing while drag queen Panti Bliss served as DJ.
The TV star later told The Guardian about that day and joked that “till death do us part” was “more achievable” at the age of 60.
He said: ‘I had a joke in my speech: votes are much more manageable. “Till death do us part” seems more achievable at our age.
‘If you get married at 23, it’s a big question. We’ll just have to put up with each other for a couple of decades. And then I’ll get out of here.