Graham Norton reveals he asked an NHS nurse ‘if he was going to die’ after being stabbed and left for dead in violent 1980s mugging as he recalls the event in emotional story for Adam Kay’s new book
- Graham Norton, 56, was attacked as a young drama student in London in 1989
- Opened up about ordeal in former doctor Adam Kay’s new book thanking NHS
- Told his ‘flesh hugged his bones’ after asking whether he would survive attack
Graham Norton will tell the emotional story of how he asked an NHS nurse whether he would survive, after being stabbed and left for dead in a violent mugging in the 1980s.
Adam Kay, 40, a former doctor and the author of bestselling memoir This Is Going to Hurt, has penned a new book sharing the stories of celebrities who have relied on the NHS over the years, with all profits going towards NHS trusts.
Appearing on This Morning today, shared his favourite story from the upcoming book, revealing how Graham, 57, who had been violently attacked after coming to London from Ireland as a drama student in 1989.
The well-loved presenter nearly died after loosing ‘half his blood volume’ following the mugging, and will tell how his ‘flesh hugged his bones’ after asking one of the nurses whether he would live, and hearing a ‘long pause’ in response.
Graham Norton, pictured in London earlier this year, will tell the emotional story of how he asked an NHS nurse whether he would survive, after being stabbed and left for dead in a violent mugging in the 1980s
Adam Kay (pictured) , 40, a former doctor and the author of bestselling memoir This Is Going to Hurt, has penned a new book sharing the stories of celebrities who have relied on the NHS over the years
When asked whether there was a stand out tale from the book – which also features stories from Paul McCartney, Trevor McDonald and Emma Thompson – he said: ‘On the one hand you shouldn’t have favorites, but on the other hand I’ve got a book to flog.
‘The book starts with Graham Norton, who tells this amazing story. 1998 in London for the first time, [he was] a drama student and he got stabbed.
‘Not a bit stabbed, he got really stabbed. Lost half his blood volume, almost lost his life. He had just arrived in London and describes the NHS as the safety net, there to catch us when we fall and replacing the family he left behind in Ireland.’
Adam went on: ‘He writes with extreme humour as you can imagine, but there was this chilling section, where he asks the nurse if he was going to die.
Appearing on This Morning today, Adam told his favourite story was one of Graham, who had been attacked in 1986
The well-loved presenter, pictured on Netflix’s Eurovision, nearly died after loosing ‘half his blood volume’ following the mugging
‘Her long pause made his flesh hug his bones, but like for so many of us, the NHS saved his life.’
Graham had previously revealed that he was stabbed in a piece for The Telegraph in 2010, writing: ‘In 1989 I was mugged, beaten and stabbed by a group of boys, who left him for dead.
‘To add insult to injury, not only did I lose half my blood but I lost my boyfriend too: he dumped me the next day, which wasn’t the most tactful piece of timing.’
Adam had volunteered to work on the coronavirus frontline at the start of the pandemic, however discovered: ‘there wasn’t a huge amount of demand for a gynaecologist who hasn’t worked for ten years’, and so penned the book ‘as a way to help’.
Adam had volunteered to work on the coronavirus frontline at the start of the pandemic. He is pictured attending the National Book Awards in 2018
Elsewhere in the book, titled ‘Dear NHS: 100 Stories to Say Thank You’, the likes of Naomie Harris, Rob Brydon and Stanley Tucci will share stories
Elsewhere in the book, titled ‘Dear NHS: 100 Stories to Say Thank You’, the likes of Naomie Harris, Rob Brydon and Stanley Tucci will share stories of how the National Health Service has benefited them.
Adam explained: ‘I think all of us were thinking, what more can we do? Watching these staff put their lives on the line.
‘So I came up with this idea, to make 100 famous faces to say thank you, as a bit of a love letter and with all the profits going to NHS trusts.’
He added: ‘We put together a dream list of people and it was a bit like when you invite too many people to your wedding and have to cram a table in the corner, because everyone said yes.’
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