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Graham Norton has revealed he broke down in hospital before undergoing a ‘secret’ shoulder replacement earlier this year.
The chat show legend, 62, admitted the moment left him unexpectedly emotional as he was forced to confront his own mortality.
The presenter has so far been type-lipped about the reason for the major surgery, which left him in a sling for appearances at Eurovision and the BAFTA TV Awards in May.
However, now speaking on the latest episode of his Wanging On podcast, Graham admitted that the magnitude of the operation caught him off guard and he was overwhelmed with emotion while waiting to be wheeled into surgery.
‘I was sitting in the hospital room and I wasn’t on any drugs or anything – it was before I was taken down – but you’re in the gown and you just feel so vulnerable, and you’re wearing those funny slippers,’ he said.
‘I did feel quite emotional. I knew I would, but you are facing your own mortality. You just feel quite vulnerable in that moment. I was surprised I got as totes emosh as I did.’
Graham Norton has confessed he was overcome with emotion before his ‘secret’ shoulder surgery as he was forced to confront his own mortality before the operation
The presenter has so far been type-lipped about the reason for the major surgery, which left him in a sling for appearances at Eurovision and the BAFTA TV Awards in May (pictured)
The star also described in graphic detail the extent of the damage to his shoulder as he confessed: ‘I now have a young bit of me. My shoulder’s brand new.
‘Sadly, there was no old shoulder left. It was all just ground down.
‘One bit is plastic – it is a ball and socket – so one bit is now plastic, and [one] bit is porcelain but with a little bit of titanium stuck into the bone and a big long cut.’
Graham said the surgery involved a dramatic incision that he compared to a shark attack, adding he got ‘loads’ of stitches.
‘I mean, it’s a big old I-was-eaten-by-a-shark kind of thing.’
He also recalled a funny exchange with his doctor during a recent follow-up appointment: ‘When I was at the doctors for the sign-off to get rid of the sling and everything, they did an X-ray.
And he was showing me the X-ray, and went, “would you like to take a picture of that?” And I went, what for? And he looked hurt. He went, “well, people might want to see it”.’
Fans first noticed something was amiss when Graham appeared at the BAFTAs in May with his left arm in a black sling.
Graham said the surgery involved a dramatic incision that he compared to a shark attack, adding he got ‘loads’ of stitches
Days later, he turned up at the Eurovision Grand Final without the sling but admitted on BBC Radio 2 that he was just two weeks post-op and still on a heavy course of medication.
‘This is my left shoulder’s first appearance on radio, (it’s) a brand new shoulder. It’s less than two weeks old.
‘It feels a bit new, it’s a little owie (painful), but forgive me, I’m on many, many medications right now, so if I say anything bad, it’s not my fault!’
The presenter did not elaborate on what caused his shoulder problems.
