THE BIOGRAPHY: GRAHAM NORTON LAID BARE by Alison Bowyer. Published in hardback by Andre Deutsch, £16.99.

Graham Norton has a £4m contract with Channel 4, a show on the station five nights a week and has won four Bafta awards and an Emmy.

Not bad for a man who was relatively unknown a few years ago.

Born Graham Walker in Dublin, he was brought up in west Cork. His childhood was not easy, but for entertainment he spent hours glued to the television, noting the similarities he shared with Larry Grayson.

Life began to take off for Norton when he attended university in Cork, developing friendships and having love affairs that would influence the rest of his life.

He decided study was not for him, so he moved to the USA, ending up in a San Francisco commune where he fell in love with an older man.

Even so, Norton returned to England with an American fiance in tow. He enrolled in the Central School of Speech and Drama and changed his name.

Then his relationship ended, he 'came out' and survived a near-fatal stabbing. Home was a string of squats and rented flats, but nothing could divert him from a career in showbusiness.

While waiting tables in restaurants, he wrote and performed his own material, leading to appearances at the Edinburgh Festival, and TV slots in Father Ted and Bring Me The Head Of Light Entertainment.

Warm, witty and camp, Graham Norton Laid Bare paints an intimate portrait of a fascinating personality.