Ntas 2017: graham norton pays tribute to friend carrie fisher

The Irish chat show host took a moment to praise the Star Wars actress, who passed away aged 60 on Tuesday 27 December last year in after she suffered a heart attack during a flight from

London to the United States a few days before. Graham, 53, struck up a close friendship with Carrie and in an emotional tribute he has said she will “live on forever”. "What's odd

with Carrie is that she was one of the very few guests that I actually became friends with. "I think there's a common misapprehension that I am friends with many of the people who

come on the show, and I'm not,” Graham began to tell Digital Spy. He continued: "But with me and Carrie, our worlds collided and we knew each other very well for quite a long time

and so, when she died, it was such a shock." Carrie had been a guest on his chat show, The Graham Norton Show, just days before the flight to promote her latest book The Princess

Diarist. It was to be her final televised interview. He added: “She will live on forever." The Eurovision Song Contest commentator was shocked to learn at last night’s ceremony that he

would be honoured with the Special Recognition Award. GRAHAM NORTON PITIES PEOPLE WHO VOTED FOR BREXIT A video montage was shown to the audience of his long career as a chat show host,

highlights from The Graham Norton show, clips of his celebrity friends admiring the star and even a video of one of his earlier roles as an actor in Father Ted. The segment featured cameos

from Dame Helen Mirren, Dolly Parton Mel Giedroyc, Dame Judi Dench, Ed Sheeran and Will Smith. When he went on stage to collect the trophy he said to the audience: "Look I know, I know

this is a sort of NTA pity party because it’s the only way I can get one of these over Ant and Dec." He is frequently based in the TV presenter category battling it out with duo Ant and

Dec who have taken home the gong for the last 16 years.