Graham Norton is one of the most respected broadcasters on TV.
The Irish funnyman has been taken in to our inpenetrable British hearts with his lambent wit and easy manner.
Millions of us tune in to see him have the craic (as they say over there in Ireland) with A-list celebrities from Tom Cruise to Arnold Schwarzenegger on his eponymous show.
The five-time BAFTA winner has worked in telly for the past 25 years – the majority of which have been spent on these shores, so he’s got to know us quite well.
Having a foot on both sides of the Irish Sea gives him a perfect view to compare an contrast culture in Britain and Ireland.
While sitting on the other side of the couch, on Ireland’s The Late Late Show, this was something that cropped up when chatting to host Ryan Tubridy.
He was talking about how Irish youth are very much in touch with the country’s history and heritage – and it’s something they’re very proud of.
https://youtu.be/9EM0AsW-OFw
However it was this that he said was the major difference between young people in his homeland and over here in his adopted home, who he said were completely unaware of anything that happened before they were born.
“What makes Ireland really special is about young people. Young people in this country still have a connection to the past. They still understand about the darker days and what went before.
“Whereas in the UK it’s a weird thing, and my office is full of young people, they’re not only not embarrassed, but they’re almost proud of the fact they have no idea about anything that happened before they were born.
“As if ‘well, why would I know that? I wasn’t alive. Clearly that can’t be of any importance if I wasn’t in the world’.”
Are British young people really that bad? There’s only one way to find out. Take this quiz and prove Norton wrong…
You can catch up on the latest episode of JOE’s Football Friday Live right here…
