Michael Douglas had to break up with 5 women when he "courted" Catherine Zeta-Jones

Michael Douglas has revealed that he had to break up with five women when he "courted" Catherine Zeta-Jones. The Hollywood power couple have been married since 2000, with Douglas opening up about their early days on tonight's The Graham Norton Show.

Reflecting on writing his new memoir One Helluva Ride, the actor was asked whether he was surprised looking back at the number of romantic liaisons he has had while putting the book together.

"I was a little surprised! It was very easy to get comfortable with co-stars and sometimes that got carried away," he said.

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"When I courted Catherine [Zeta-Jones] she told me, ‘If we are doing this, you need to clean your act up.’ I was divorced and seeing some other people at the time, so I had to call five women to break things off."

Looking back on his decision to write it now, Douglas shared: "I thought it was probably time. My dad [Kirk Douglas] wrote nine books including a great autobiography, so I started thinking about legacy. It was fabulous going back. I had forgotten so much.

"There were so many stories about the movies I have made but then the producer in me took over and I thought, 'Let’s just go for the dirt!'"

Alongside Douglas, tonight's Graham Norton Show sofa also includes Glenn Close, Kieran Culkin, Naomi Ackie and music from Sugababes.

Meanwhile, Zeta-Jones was most recently seen in Prime Video series Kill Jackie, which debuted earlier this month. The thriller sees the star play a wealthy art dealer who is targeted by dangerous hitmen as her past catches up.

The show received mixed reviews, and was called everything from a "sleek, violent thriller" to "preposterous nonsense".

The Graham Norton Show airs on BBC One and iPlayer at 10:40pm on Friday, 30 October.

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Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International.  Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.