One will air a world exclusive Madonna special with Graham Norton on Friday 26 June at 10.40pm, bringing the pop star back to the stage and screen at Koko in Camden, where she first performed in London more than 30 years ago. The programme, Madonna & Graham, was recorded at the same venue that hosted her first-ever UK show in 1983 and later the launch of Confessions on a Dance Floor in 2005.
The broadcast matters now because it lands as viewers look for first details of Madonna’s new album Confessions II, due in July, and the interview is billed as an intimate, in-depth conversation about her life and career. Norton said it felt especially incredible to meet her on the dance floor where she first performed in London, adding that she remains a legendary pop icon who still knows how to get people dancing.
In the special, Madonna looks back on her early days in New York, reflects on her long relationship with the UK and discusses her most recent performance at Coachella. The programme also includes special guests, among them her longtime collaborator Stuart Price, and it gives Norton a rare look inside the world of the new album.
That exclusivity comes with a wrinkle. One is presenting the interview as a one-off world event, but it will also be heard again on Radio 2 on Saturday 4 July from 6pm to 8pm, and both versions will stay available on iPlayer and Sounds for 30 days after transmission. So while the television airing is fixed to one late June night, the audience will not be confined to that slot.
Madonna brings more than star power to the billing. She has 13 UK number one singles, 12 UK number one albums, seven Grammy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards, and she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008. For One, the special fits a run of high-profile music projects that have made big-name interviews feel like must-see television, and the unanswered question now is how much of Confessions II Norton will be allowed to pull out of her before the album arrives next month.
