Graham Norton's bitter feud with Bee Gees star who vowed to 'rip his head off'

10 February 2024 , 07:00

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Graham Norton's bitter feud with Bee Gees star who vowed to 'rip his head off'

Graham Norton is about to be shown non-stop from next week as back-to-back episodes of his chat show air on Samsung TV Plus – but one person who is unlikely to be tuning in is Barry Gibb.

The Bee Gees star’s late brother Robin Gibb previously branded Graham ‘scum’ over a joke he made surrounding his twin brother and bandmate Maurice’s death at the age of just 53. Maurice passed away in a Miami hospital on January 12, 2003, from surgery for a twisted intestine that caused him to go into cardiac arrest.

At the time, Graham joked on his Channel 4 chat show: “I bet Maurice Gibb’s heart monitor was singing the tune of Stayin’ Alive.” However, this didn’t go down well with viewers who complained to The Independent Television Commission, which has since been replaced with Ofcom.

The regulating body later ruled Graham had broken guidelines by offending public feeling for the joke made so soon after Maurice’s death. This led both Channel 4 and Graham to apologise saying they had not meant to offend the Gibb family.

Robin with his twin brother Maurice Gibb. Both have since passed away (PA)

Robin once threatened to 'rip' Graham Norton's head off over a tasteless joke (BBC)

But it wasn’t enough for Robin, who vowed to “rip his head off” if he ever bumped into Graham again. During an interview on This Morning at the time, Robin reportedly ranted, according to The Guardian: “Some very nasty things were said and I want to get them off my chest – in particular Graham Norton, who I used to respect and who I now detest and think he’s scum.

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“I want an apology from Channel 4, the producers of Graham Norton and Graham Norton himself, because he chose to say it. He went on his TV show while my brother was dying in hospital and he said really repugnant and repulsive things about my brother’s death process, which even today I still find it hard to recover from. I wonder if Graham Norton would have said that about a member of his own family who lay dying in hospital, or would have allowed anyone else to say it?”

Adding he would “never forgive” the late night chat show host, Robin said: “It’s a small industry and he should hope that he never crosses paths with me because I will rip his head off if I see him!”

Barry (centre) is the only surviving brother and member of the Bee Gees band (Michael Ochs Archives)

A statement issued by Channel 4 at the time said that Norton had already apologised and was genuinely sorry for any offence caused. It read: “Graham Norton’s monologue in V Graham Norton satirises the day’s news in his own inimitable way. At the start of the monologue, Graham did refer to Maurice Gibb’s death as sad news.”

The statement continued: “Graham fully intended this item to be an affectionate reference to the Bee Gees’ unique and distinctive style of music and not in any way mocking of his death. There was no intention to cause any offence to the Gibb family and we’re genuinely sorry that the comments have caused them upset.”

Issuing a further apology, Graham added: “I did apologise to the family when the issue first arose and I’m very sorry that this apology did not reach the family at the time.” ." Sadly, Robin died nine years later in 2012 from colon cancer at the age of 62, leaving big brother Barry, 77, as the only surviving member of the Bee Gees band.

Katie Wilson