Ruthie's Table 4: Graham Norton

Many years ago, my husband, Richard Rogers, and I were at Danny Myers's restaurant, Maialino, in New York City. As we passed the table and spotted Graham Norton, we stopped. "Graham", I said, "you're my hero". 

Without a second's hesitation, he looked up and said "Richard is mine". That small moment told me everything I needed to know about the broadcaster, author and storyteller I'd been watching for years.

To be a truly great host, as Graham is every week on his television sofa, you have to understand and genuinely like people.

Everybody has a story and every table is a world. If life is about luck, then having Graham here with me today is part of the luck I have. 

After all, he is my hero.