STAGE TUBE: Bette Midler Launches 'The Graham Norton Show' on BBC America

As The Graham Norton Show continues to premiere on BBC AMERICA, Graham is joined by his "favorite entertainer in the whole wide world", the great Bette Midler, along with actor/writer/comedian Stephen Fry and WBA Heavyweight Champion of the World, David Haye. The fifth episode of the new season of The Graham Norton Show premieres Saturday, December 4th, 10:00p.m. ET/PT.

Bette opens up about breaking the mold and being more than just a singer, and says "I've always thought I should have something called like Diva Boot Camp, where you'd kind of tell people that, if you can sing- you can also speak! It stands to reason that you can be amusing, you can introduce yourself to the audience."
Regarding the two years she spent performing in Vegas, Bette says, "It was fantastic. It was the dream of a lifetime, but now I'm done and I'll never do it again as long as I live," and jokes, "In fact I am in retirement." 

On her act, she says, "I can lay claim to that [inventing trash], yes, and I'm actually quite proud of it. Unfortunately a lot of people have, you know, taken it one step too far, and everyone else is way, way trashier than I am now and I feel respectable and bit conservative."
Bette describes leaving her home in Hawaii at age 19: "I got in a van- well first I flew- then I got in a van. I was utterly fearless and that is, to me when I look back, I have no idea how I did that because I am such a chickenshit."

On being famous, she says, "I've always taken it [fame] with a pinch of salt - sometimes a great big lump of salt- because to me it's a sidebar, it doesn't really matter. I never wanted to be poor. That was very important to me. Fame didn't enter into it- I just didn't want to be poor because I was really poor when I was a kid."
Bette also performs a song from her new album, ‘Memories of You'.

Stephen, talking about his role in the new Sherlock Holmes sequel starring Robert Downey Jr., says, "I play his intelligent brother. Sherlock Holmes has a smarter brother called Mycroft, and I play Mycroft. - We look very alike - that's why I was cast. A handsome version of RDJ."

He also admits to being huge Holmes fan, saying, "It sort of determined the course of my life, oddly enough." He tells the story of being the youngest member of the Sherlock Holmes Society and delivering a paper there as a boy, which got him expelled from the first of many schools and the chain effect of that for the rest of his life. "So I really owe everything - both in terms of degradation and redemption - to Sherlock Holmes."

David admits that after 20 years of boxing and winning titles, he's retiring. He talks about moving on to an acting career and says, "I've always loved action movies- you know, Arnie, Sly, Dolph Lundgren, Jean Claude... they're not known for their tremendous acting skills but it's the action! I love the big corny line before you shoot someone in the head."

The married father of one also explains the difficulties and frustrations of "Living life as bit of a monk," while training for big fights. Stephen Fry helps him delicately discuss the matter, but the message is not lost on Bette, who falls off the sofa in shock.

And finally, Graham and Bette pull the lever on foolhardy members of the audience - many of them ‘Betteheads' - brave enough to sit in the red chair.

Click below to watch clips from the show's premiere!

The Graham Norton Show continues its tradition of being based on the people, trends, stories, and aspects of celebrity culture that interest Norton most. And as always, expect Norton's trademark comedy monologues, celebrity chat, and eccentric stories. For more visit http://bbcamerica.com/grahamnorton.