GRAHAM NORTON opened his chat show last night with a moving tribute to the victims of the Manchester bombing.

BBC BBC

Twenty-two people died in the attack at an Ariana Grande concert in the Manchester Arena on Monday night, with at least 59 people injured.

At the start of the show, Graham normally gives a humorous run down of world events, but last night he decided instead to use the time to talk about the attack.

“Sometimes the world isn’t a very funny place, especially after the terrible event in Manchester,” he said.

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So tonight all we are going to do is bring you a bit of distraction. We’ll do some jokes, chat about films and books, listen to music, tell some silly stories and flip some people on a big red chair, and we hope it brings a smile.

We record this show in London. I live in London. But we are watched not only the length and breadth of Britain, but also around the world too. And that gives me the chance to say: Manchester, we are all standing with you.

Viewers at home were touched by the gesture:

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In a statement released last night, Ariana Grande said she will return to Manchester to play a benefit concert for the victims and their families, and called on people to respond to the violence by coming “closer together”.

Music is something everyone on Earth can share. Music is meant to heal us, bring us together, to make us happy. So that is what it will continue to do for us. We will continue in honour of the ones we lost, their loved ones, my fans and all affected by this tragedy. They will be on my mind and in my heart everyday, and I will think of them with everything I do for the rest of my life.

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