Jacinda Ardern opens up about pregnancy and politics on The Graham Norton Show

On Friday night UK time, Dame Jacinda Ardern made her first-ever appearance on The Graham Norton Show alongside actress and first-time director Kate Winslet, UK Celebrity Traitors winner Alan Carr, and US talk show host and podcaster Seth Meyers.

Ardern’s visit to Norton's famed red couch coincided with the 5 December UK release of the documentary film Prime Minister, which the host described as "truly extraordinary".

Prime Minister was compiled from 300 hours of footage, including Ardern's partner Clarke Gayford’s home videos and audio snippets from the Alexander Turnbull Library's Political Diaries oral history project.

The film hit New Zealand screens in September after receiving a standing ovation at its Sundance Film Festival premiere this January, where directors Michelle Walshe and Lindsay Utz took out the Audience Award for World Cinema Documentary.

On Friday’s episode of The Graham Norton Show, once the inevitable Lord of the Rings chat was out of the way – including mentions of Winslet’s first feature film role as a 17-year-old in Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures and Ardern's failed audition to play a Hobbit – the talk turned to the former PM’s discovering that she was pregnant during the 2017 coalition negotiations.

"Is that actually true?" Winslet asked, touching Ardern’s shoulder. "You’re even more amazing," she pronounced upon receiving confirmation.

"I’m really glad you’ve gone there because you could say that’s terrible planning," Ardern replied, going on to describe receiving the news that she would be the next prime minister.

"Oh my god, she is amazing," Winslet said to the cheering audience while clapping.

After a few more jokes, including Ardern pondering whether she could have passed off morning sickness during a Parliamentary ceremony as "a bad kebab", the talk turned back to Prime Minister.

The documentary wouldn’t be what it is without Gayford’s input, Ardern told Norton.

"I think only he could have helped create what it now is because I would never have otherwise let someone film me as consistently in my pyjamas or my bathrobe or at home and behind the scenes."

She said she hoped the documentary shows what it is like to lead a country and "that you can lead differently than perhaps the way we see in the world today".

Norton noted that there were times in Prime Minister when Ardern appeared "quite tetchy".

"You make that sound like that doesn’t happen often," Ardern joked, before adding, "That’s because we never had any intention about what would happen with the footage."

In a clip from Prime Minister played to the audience, Ardern was shown speaking to the camera after a Parliamentary Question Time session in which the Opposition asked about the effects of Covid lockdowns on the economy.

"Simon Bridges yelled across the house, ‘She doesn’t do the economy!’" Ardern told the camera. "I wanted to punch him in the face."

This drew laughter and a big round of applause from Graham Norton's audience.

Fans of Ardern's leadership will be disappointed to hear her response to his question about whether she might return to politics in the future, though - a vehement "No."

Episode 10, Series 33 of The Graham Norton Show, featuring Kate Winslet, Jacinda Ardern, Alan Carr and Seth Meyers will air on TVNZ and TVNZ+ on Friday 12 December.