Prince William has marked a royal first, sitting down on British talk show The Graham Norton Show alongside Cate Blanchett, Robert Irwin, and Hannah Waddingham.

The Prince surprised the audience of the BBC One talk show when he joined the episode halfway through as Graham revealed it was a special Earthshot Prize edition of the award-winning series.

Graham spoke with Cate, Robert and Hannah about their individual work before revealing to the unsuspecting audience what connects them all: The Earthshot Prize.

Cate is an Earthshot Prize Council Member, Robert is the Earthshot Prize Global Ambassador, and Hannah hosted the 2023 Earthshot Prize Awards in Singapore.

The Prince and Graham reflected on the origins of the Prize, which William launched in  2020, but William also spoke about his love for Aston Villa and Christopher Nolan movies.

"I love getting immersed in deep-thinking films. I like action films too, but I like something a bit different. I’m a big fan of everything Christopher Nolan does. His films are fantastic – The Dark Knight series is psychologically dark and deep and I absolutely love that. He takes concepts that are completely out there and makes them incredibly entertaining," said the Prince.

He also revealed that the Waleses love Celebrity Traitors, and in particular, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis: "I love it, the family love it. Charlotte and Louis are obsessed with it. It’s really good telly."

"I saw Ross Kemp the day after the first episode, and I couldn't help but try – in the most appropriate way – to touch him to see what reaction I got from him," he added. "Turns out he was really jumpy!”

William also spoke about the importance of a global coalition, insisting that no single person or initiative can solve the challenge alone. Cate praised the Prize as a "tapestry of solutions," and Hannah highlighted how important it wasl that Finalists were supported and connected with networks and investment needed to grow their impact.  

The Earthshot Prize is awarded to five winners each year for their contributions towards environmentalism. Winners are currently working on methods to capture 18 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions; restore land, forests, freshwater systems, oceans and coastline; remove or upcycle 465,000 tonnes of waste; and improve quality for communities.

Prince William is the first working royal to sit down on a British talk show, although both Sarah Ferguson and Lady Glenconnor have previously sat on Graham's famous red couch.

After leaving the royal family in 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have both appeared on US talk shows, including The Late Late Show with James Corden in 2021, The Ellen DeGeneres Show the same year, and The Drew Barrymore Show in 2025.