James Norton explains how therapy has helped him cope with school bullying

James Norton is recently in the news for his intriguing character Tommy Lee Royce on Happy Valley.

However, the actor opened up about how his school days were not the “greatest time” of his life because of constant bullying for five years.

Speaking on the Comfort Eating podcast, James revealed, “My school years were complicated. I didn't have the greatest time.”

He continued, “I was quite badly bullied for five years and I was at boarding school so I couldn't leave.”

James mentioned that he had a “great therapist for the last four years, and it's not from a place of drama”.

Even though James went through traumatic experience, the actor admitted he’s not “suffering from depression or anything like that.

“But therapy has been really, really helpful to understanding what happened to me at school,” pointed out the 37-year-old.

James also disclosed that he doesn’t like “boarding school system” because according to him, “most of the kids there are deeply homesick”.

“I've realised that boarding schools are really weird places. We're the only country that still sends our kids away voluntarily,” noted the actor.

James explained, “You're stuck with these people, and all these young kids are just deeply, deeply homesick and they're just lost.”

“For some of them, that pain manifests itself in being needy or rebellious. But some of them get angry and rather than crying out for their mum they just bully someone,” he asserted.

Earlier, James appeared on The Graham Norton Show where he discussed about his role on Happy Valley.

The actor remarked, “The character Tommy is a despicable monster, but he became really enticing, a sort of weird distant friend that you love seeing.”

“It is a huge relief that people like it – after seven years there was no guarantee that anyone would want to see it,” he added.