Gay TV presenter Graham Norton once applied for a job as a male prostitute, but left his first client's house "screaming and crying".

The Irish comedian stayed at a hippy commune in San Francisco when he was 20 and was so desperate for money and sex, he applied for a job as a rent boy, but was disgusted by the risk he was taking with his elderly customer and ran away.

Norton admits in his forthcoming autobiography, SO ME, "I saw the ad in a free newspaper, called the number and was given a rendezvous. The next day I headed to the address, numb with fear. The drums in my head telling me this was a big mistake.

"He asked me to take off my clothes. The situation was spiraling out of control. I walked over, put my hands on his hips and kissed him. I pulled down his shorts. This was as far as I had ever been with a man.

"The sudden reality of being naked on a bed with an older man jolted me back to my senses. I said 'I would like to stop.' I had got away with doing such an incredibly stupid, risky thing. I did not deserve to be leaving this apartment, not screaming and crying."

17/08/2004 02:46