'Not my strong point': Drew Barrymore explains why she sits so close to her talk show guests

Drew Barrymore has confessed that she understands guests on her daytime television show need their personal space. 

The actress, 49, says she's is working on keeping "physical distance" between herself and guests on the new season of The Drew Barrymore Show. 

Addressing the attention her affectionate nature has garnered on social media, Barrymore acknowledged some viewers feel strange about her physical interactions with her guests. 

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Speaking with Entertainment Tonight after her talk show was renewed for seasons 6 and 7, the star revealed: "I'll try to practise physical distance, which is not my strong point."

"Do you know how hard the pandemic was for me? I was alone in a studio by myself! I like to be around people!" she continued.

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The daytime talk host added that she understands her affectionate personality isn't always appreciated: "I'm sorry to those people!" 

"I think that first of all, we're always gonna be big on joy and laughter and feeling good, and that was something I always wanted to do, but I never thought we would launch in a pandemic, and trying to lean into the joy and the feel good and the comedy at that time was real weird and wacky," she shared. 

"I am so into working on myself as a person that I think that's always gonna be a big part of the show: 'How do we live a life? How do we thrive and not just survive?'

"I love listening to people. I love learning from people. I'm a student. I will never not be a student."

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Barrymore added that her goal has been to spread joy since she became a child star.E.T. as a child. 

"Ever since I did E.T. as a kid, I was very convinced that people want a collective experience," she said.

"They want community. They want to watch something and experience something together. And that really hit me; seeing all those lines around the corner, and people coming out of the theatre, laughing and crying.

"We need this. We need the life-affirming. We need to feel and believe in the good. Because it's there. And I will spend every day finding it. And it's needed for when it's not there. And life is the rollercoaster, but what a lovely ride."

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