“It was funny” – Graham Norton addresses awkward moment on This Morning last week

Graham Norton has moved to defend Alison Hammond after the This Morning presenter took some criticism for a question she asked the Corkman on last Friday’s episode.

In case you missed it, Graham Norton was being interviewed by Hammond and Dermot O’Leary on the ITV daytime show, when the subject of his dog Bailey came up. Alison commented that she was familiar with Norton’s dog having seen them out for walks and when she asked if he still had the pooch, Norton replied in characteristic deadpan style: “No, dead.”

The response led to awkward laughter in the studio and Norton has now moved to dismiss suggestions that Hammond’s question was inappropriate. The tweet that featured the moment has since been deleted from the This Morning Twitter account and speaking on his radio show on Sunday, Graham said: “Big up Alison Hammond. She got so much flak for apparently, you know, being insensitive or upsetting me. Because I did This Morning and she said, ‘Oh, how’s your dog?’ and I said, ‘Oh it’s dead’.

“And I did it in a deliberate way to be awkward. And it was going to be funny. It was funny and I think she found it funny and Dermot found it funny. I found it funny.”

He added that “I love Alison Hammond and if there was any awkwardness, it was my fault. I made it a bad thing. That’s the other thing, I feel like people then think I’m kind of heartless. I was bereft when the dog went, but now I can use it for comedy.”

You can catch up with Graham on his chat show this Friday night, when guests will include Rebel Wilson and Keeley Hawes.

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