A Happy Valley star has been using his platform to raise awareness of a life-threatening health condition.
James Norton plays murderous villain Tommy Lee Royce on the BBC series. The actor has type 1 diabetes and sometimes has to inject himself with insulin up to 15 times a day.
When opening up about life as a diabetic to fans, the 37-year-old once condition as a "complete b***h". He admitted his diagnosis was "traumatic" due to the fact he is "a terrible hypochondriac anyway".
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Mirror Online reports how Grantchester actor's little sister and his mother also have type 1 diabetes. His father is the only one in the family who doesn't have the autoimmune condition, which affects around 42,000 people in the UK.
The TV star, who is rumoured to be in the running to be the new James Bond, was around 22 years old when he first started to experience symptoms like losing weight and feeling tired. A blood test confirmed that he was type 1 diabetic.
James once recalled, when talking to Good Health at a major conference for families affected by type 1 in 2019, how he was diagnosed with the condition.
He said: "It was traumatic, because I'm a terrible hypochondriac anyway. But it was also manageable because I had the best role model in my sister, who was training to be a doctor.
"I called her so many times, worrying about things, which was strange, because I'd always been the protective older brother, keeping an eye on Jessie at parties."
"Having type 1 was particularly hard for her through her teenage years when she had so many other things to contend with. But then, when it was my turn, she got me through it, too."
Speaking the following year, James discussed how type 1 diabetes affects him on a daily basis, emphasising that "being diabetic does not hold you back".
Type 1 diabetes is caused by the immune system mistakenly attacking cells in the pancreas that produce the hormone insulin, which in turn causes blood sugar levels to rise. Around 400,000 people in the UK are thought to have the lifelong autoimmune condition.
The condition is managed by administering insulin, which keeps the blood glucose levels low and under control.
James told The Times in 2020: "I have to inject every time I eat carbohydrates – up to 15 times a day, with 5mm needles you use discreetly. Also, I have this device called a Dexcom, a subcutaneous glucose monitor that Bluetooths my phone and tells me what my sugars are. Before, I had to draw blood from my finger."
James went on to add: "Being diabetic does not hold you back. It’d never hamper me, for example, in regards to any role, particularly physically."
During World Diabetes Day in 2022, James shared a post on Instagram in a bid to raise more awareness of the condition. He posed alongside his two insulin pens and Dexcom sensor, which monitors glucose in the blood.
James captioned the snaps: "Today is World Diabetes Day. It’s a day to raise awareness about diabetes. But also to simply show some love and support for all the diabetic warriors out there.
"At its best, our condition is a constant faff. At its worst, it’s a complete b***h that can be potentially life-threatening on a daily basis, if it’s not looked after properly. These two insulin pens I’m holding, as well as the @dexcom sensor on my bum, keep me alive every single day."
He added: "You have no idea how valuable these small devices are to us T1s, and how grateful I am to live in a country where we have free access to this type [of] medicine and tech. That said, a cure would be nice. So go visit @jdrf_uk to see how you can get involved. And then go find a diabetic and buy them a Diet Coke."
James is an ambassador for JDRF, an organisation committed to researching new in diabetes technology and treatment and laying the foundations for a cure. He once told JDRF's Type 1 Discovery magazine: "I didn’t talk about my diabetes when I was first diagnosed but when I started to more and more, I felt relief.
"And once I did, I realised lots of people are dealing with something too. There is an amazing community […] you can talk to now, compare notes and feel a sense of solidarity."
*JDRF has a range of resources – and live virtual events – for people affected by type 1 diabetes.
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