THE JONATHAN ROSS SHOW TONIGHT: MEET THE FAMOUS GUESTS ON THE SOFA

On the The Jonathan Ross Show this week, Jonathan is joined by globally renowned chef and restaurateur Gordon Ramsay, national treasure and actor Danny Dyer, international star of stage and screen Vanessa Williams, star of Babygirl Harris Dickinson, reigning Sports Personality of the Year and Olympics golden girl Keely Hodgkinson plus the legendary Love and Affection singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading will be performing live in the studio.

Jonathan speaks to globally renowned chef and restaurateur Gordon Ramsay following the launch of his new restaurant Lucky Cat - 22 Bishopsgate. Speaking about his daughter Holly and her engagement to Olympic swimmer Adam Peaty, Gordon says, “It’s going to be a Christmas wedding and they’re looking at areas and venues and lots of planning.”

Jonathan asks if Adam spoke to him ahead of proposing to Holly, and Gordon says, “Not really permission but he’s a very nice guy. He’s so down to earth and so focused and disciplined. He sat us down in Cornwall. He said ‘Holly is just the perfect woman. I’d like to get your blessing - from you and Tana for her hand in marriage’. It was that sort of amazing moment. Everything went quiet. As a future son-in-law, we couldn’t ask for anyone better.” 

Touching upon the speech he’ll deliver at the wedding, Gordon jokes, “It’s going to be something short and simple - don’t fuck this up!” Gordon adds, “He’s so grounded. Those two get on so well. It’s a blessing.”

Speaking about his relationship with Adam, Gordon says “It gets a little bit competitive between him and Jack, and myself when we’re swimming.” 

Talking about his new restaurant, Gordon says “We’ve got a problem with the toilets. There are lots of couples going in there and treating it like the ‘mile high’ bathroom."

Referring to the lucky cat statues on each table, Gordon reveals, “The cats are getting stolen. There were 477 stolen last week - they cost £4.50 each!”

Gordon also reveals an encounter with a fan earlier that day and says, “A lady said to me ‘you look so much better in real life and so much taller’.”

Quizzed by Jonathan on how old his youngest is, Gordon says, “Jesse is 14 months old and Oscar’s five.” Jonathan then asks if Gordon is finished in terms of having children, Gordon laughs and says, “I’d like to think so, yes.”

Reflecting on his global success, Gordon says, “It does get a bit scary, in terms of how big it is and the global impact. The team are incredible and there are some amazing chefs throughout. Opening in 1998 Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, I would never have thought it would be here today - this year we celebrated 24 years at three star Michelin.”

National treasure and actor Danny Dyer speaks to Jonathan ahead of the launch of his new film Marching Powder.

Talking about his grandchildren, Danny says, “I’ve got three. We call them ‘the terribles’ because they terrorise you. They’re a gift. My Dani is f***ed. She’s exhausted - three kids under four. They terrorise me. I say ‘Dan, that's enough now’. They’re 100 miles an hour. They just want to destroy things in front of them.”

Danny then talks about daughter Dani and her fiance Jarrod Bowen, “It’s a mad thing the idea of giving your daughter away - I don’t like that. But if you’re going to give your daughter away, give your daughter to the West Ham captain! It’s amazing. He’s a very humble, brilliant, beautiful man who worships the ground she walks on. He did call me and ask for the hand in marriage, I was on the verge of tears. I was trying to be the hard man of course.”

On whether he asked his father-in-law for his blessing when he proposed to his wife, Danny says, “I went round there. I did ask. I don’t think he was a massive fan of mine to be fair. I was a bit of a t**t to be honest.” 

Jonathan quizzes Danny on whether he still would have given his blessing if Jarrod played for Millwall F.C. and Danny says, “We might have had some issues. Listen, he loves her and adores her and that’s all I want. It’s just such a bonus that he plays for West Ham. I do feel sorry for my other daughter Sunnie - there is no man she can bring home that will match. She [Dani] has brought home the ideal man for me.”

Speaking about his upcoming film Marching Powder, Danny says, “This is a very working-class film.”

On working with his real son in the film, Danny says, “That is my actual son. I couldn’t have done it with another kid. I’ve got a really close bond with my son. We improvised a lot of stuff. I didn’t know if he could do it but he came in and did it. He wasn’t that bothered.”

Finally, Danny speaks about a new business venture of his, “I’m going to invest some dough into a caravan site. I went to caravans on my holiday as a kid - Canvey Island. Caravans are a thing for me, it’s very much about nostalgia. I seen Jeremy Clarkson is cracking on with his farm so I’m going to try and run a caravan site and bring back the British holidays.”

Jonathan speaks to international star of stage and screen Vanessa Williams who is currently starring in The Devil Wears Prada West End musical. Vanessa says, “It’s been such a pleasure to have people that know the franchise, come and repeat lines when I do the cerulean monologue. There are people that are waiting for me to say ‘cerulean’. The people who don’t know the film are surprised at the plot twists. It’s fascinating.”

Asked by Jonathan if the hours and workload of performing are draining, Vanessa says, “I hate taking any time off. I’m always there. We’ve been sold out since we started previews in October so we just extended - now you can actually buy tickets for the future.”

Quizzed by Jonathan on how long she’ll be in the production, Vanessa says, “We’ll see. I’m in negotiation mode right now. I love living here.”

Speaking about her love of working with British actors, Vanessa says, “I have to say the discipline that the British actors have here is incredible. What I love is that we do is a cast warm-up. Normally on Broadway you’ll roll in half an hour before and it’s up to you what you want to figure out. We all get on stage, do a physical warm-up, we all do a vocal warm-up together - it’s a great opportunity to unify but to also have that practice of discipline. I love it!” 

Vanessa also reveals that she is rarely approached because the public have an assumption of her based on the roles she has played in her career, "No one approaches me which is great because I never get bothered. Anyone assumes that I’m going to be a b***h. People are trepidatious when they meet me.”

Speaking about the Miss America scandal, Vanessa says, “The photographer that took these did not have a release and sold them behind my back. I’m doing a documentary that is in the works. It was betrayal, it was not good. It made me who I am and in retrospect there would have been nothing that I could have done to navigate better. I thank my parents who were so supportive and also the community who said ‘we’re here and we believe in you.’ It was a lot to deal with at 21 years old. I only had four weeks left to go in my reign and this all came out of the blue - it was a lot to manage.”

Asked by Jonathan if she would like to return to Ugly Betty, Vanessa says, “I would love to do it. I don’t know what world it would be as America [Ferrera] is obviously an adult now. I don’t know if she takes over Mode magazine and what happens to Wilhelmina and Mark, I don’t know. I loved that cast.”

Following the release of erotic thriller Babygirl, actor Harris Dickinson also speaks to Jonathan. Speaking about whether he always planned to become an actor, Harris says, “I did a few different things. I really loved it as a kid but I didn’t know it was going to be a job. I was a bin man for a bit which I liked.”

Describing the film to the audience and his fellow guests, Harris says, “Nicole Kidman plays a CEO of a robotics company and my character comes in as an intern. We basically have this illicit affair. There is an exploration of our desires - I think the director was really interested in trying to explore what it means for someone who hasn’t explored their sexuality properly or been liberated properly, what that means and how that holds people back in a way.”

Harris adds, “My mum thought it was going to be a really raunchy film but it’s not. She came to a screening and I did a Q&A afterwards. I was backstage, I didn’t sit and watch it with her!” 

Harris later reveals an awkward encounter with his brother recently and says, “I went for Thai food with my brother. Mid-way through the meal, and it was spicy food as well, a glass of milk turned up and I panicked. She delivered it and he said ‘yeah he’s struggling with it’. I was so embarrassed.”

On the reaction from women, Harris says, “In America after the film came out we had some funny chats with people - the older generation women tend to be a bit more forthcoming. A woman came up to me and she tickled me and said ‘Honey, I can’t wait to get home and use that vibrator’. What do you say to that?”

Speaking about his frustrations when it comes to being an actor, Harris says “I feel like as actors though, do you ever feel like a performing monkey? Putting on what you’re told to wear. I have a problem being told what to wear - I’m in the wrong job I think. On set sometimes, I struggle with it. I really want to have control over the costumes, sometimes.”

Harris also shares a story of an unusual cinema experience and says, “I went to watch a film at a cinema in London. It was a long film with a mate, I took my shoes off - it felt acceptable. I was fiddling with the seat in front of me and I thought it was the seat. About 25 mins in, I started to feel like this isn’t a seat, this is a head. It was a human head, a bald head. I looked over and there was a man laying down there. As I saw him, he sort of scurried away.”

Jonathan is also joined by reigning Sports Personality of the Year and Olympics golden girl Keely Hodgkinson. Reflecting on the past year, Keely says “It’s definitely been a special year for me, I’ve loved every second of it.”

Speaking about the moment she won the gold medal, Keely says “I do like to watch it back. It’s a nice little reminder and motivator. The first time I watched it back was at 4am after the race. 

Asked by Jonathan if there was a big party after her win, Keely reveals “Unfortunately the glamour after track and field isn’t so great - anti-doping straight after. I probably left the track at 1am, went to see my family and was back at 6am for a whole day of media but then I went to Marbella so it’s ok.”

On becoming an athlete, Keely says “I did start off swimming. I was inspired by Rebecca Adlington in 2008. Me and my dad used to go back and forth - he used to tell me I had a talent in running and I was like ‘So, you think I’m really bad at swimming then?’ We had this argument for about a year and when I was 12, I made the switch back to athletics.” 

Quizzed by Jonathan on what she planned to do if she hadn't become a professional athlete, Keely replies, “I wanted to go into the army. To be fair, this man came into school and I heard the money was good!” 

Keely then reveals an unusual culinary tale, “Tokyo Olympics - I was 19 and I was just starting my cheffing journey. The food hall was a good 10 minute walk away and I’m trying to save my energy. I needed porridge in the morning so I used the kettle to boil the milk. Honestly, it worked! If you time it right.”

Speaking about her recent injury, Keely says “Unfortunately I tore my hamstring - ouch. Disappointing and such bad timing. It was the worst outcome we could have had. The weekend was still a success and despite me not running we still had some great British records done. It’s healing nicely, it’s going to take probably six weeks. I was going to try to break the world indoor record.”

Talking about the messages she receives from fans, Keely says “I get some lovely stories from young boys and girls who watched Paris. One of my goals is to try and inspire the next generation into track and field. I think you can learn a lot from sport in your life.”

On life after track and field, Keely says, “Hopefully I’ve got another 10-12 years left. I haven’t really thought much past it. I’ll see what opportunities come my way. I’ve got lots of things I’m interested in.”

At the end of the show, Joan Armatrading performs.  The Jonathan Ross Show airs Saturdays on ITV1.