SINGAPORE — Hosting a successful talk show these days can be a daunting task, what with the wealth of such shows flooding our television screens every week, whether it’s The View, The Ellen Show, The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon or Late Night With Seth Meyers.

But for British funny man Graham Norton, who helms the eponymous The Graham Norton Show (Season 16 starts on BBC Entertainment tonight), upping the ante doesn’t always mean having to make drastic changes. In fact, Norton said there wasn’t really any pressure to stay ahead of the competition.

“What’s good is that all the shows are pretty different,” he said in an email interview. “There is always some competition among the shows for guests. But even if you were the only show on TV, it is always competitive because you are trying to get rich famous people to leave their hotel rooms!

“We take our lead from the audience and, at the moment, we are doing very well and have a great time slot on the BBC. No drastic changes at the moment — if the audience enjoys the show, it means you are doing something right!”

Doing it right means making sure the show is funny, said Norton, adding that this includes bits that others might consider bloopers. “If it’s funny, we keep it in, so I think the outtakes are the boring bits! If something goes wrong and is funny, we usually keep it, so if someone watched outtakes on a DVD, it would be very, very boring!”

Another factor is making sure they have a slew of top stars of the moment taking the hot seat in every episode: Celebs featured this season will include Hugh Grant, Taylor Swift, Robert Downey Jr, U2, Denzel Washington and John Cleese. It’s a number that keeps growing of course, but Norton did have a few on his wishlist that he would love to put on the spot.

“We’ve never had George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie ... and in fact, we have never had David Beckham, which is weird because we had his wife on the show!”

And contrary to popular belief, Norton isn’t always on the speed dial of these stars. “People think I am friends with all these famous people and we all hang out. But I don’t! It’s not that I don’t want to or don’t like them, but it just doesn’t happen. I think that is the biggest misconception about me.”

And even though he’s one of the top TV presenters in the United Kingdom — he has five BAFTA Television Awards (the equivalent of a Golden Globe) for Best Entertainment Performance — he’s pragmatic about what his legacy will be and whether people will remember him in years to come.

“So few people are going to be remembered, particularly now that more people seem to be famous than ever before,” he said. “I think the chances of being remembered are slim. I hope I’m remembered as a good uncle, brother, son, boyfriend and friend, but in the greater scheme of things, I’m pretty sure I won’t be remembered.”

If fans need to reminisce, they can always get the DVD — just skip the outtakes.

The Graham Norton Show (Season 16) premieres tonight, 10pm, on BBC Entertainment (StarHub TV Ch 521).