James Norton recalls being ‘badly bullied’ at school

‘One of the people who really got me through was a monk called Father Peter,’ says actor

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James Norton has revealed he was “quite badly bullied” at school.

The British actor, who was tipped by many to be the next James Bond, recalled “sobbing” as a result of the teasing he was subjected to when he was a student at Ampleforth College, a Catholic boarding school in North Yorkshire.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Norton explained: “I actually got quite badly bullied at school and one of my saviours, one of the people who really got me through was a monk called Father Peter, who wasn’t a teacher, nothing to do the school but he had confession.”

Norton added that although he wasn’t Catholic, he would frequently go to confession with Father Peter and open up about how he was being bullied.

“I was able to go and just talk,” the 34-year-old recalled, “and he basically became my therapist and I just would sort of sob my eyes out”.

Norton, who has starred in Happy Valley and War & Peace, went on to describe his time at Ampleforth College as a ”hard-core style environment”.

But the actor added that he did have “some great friends” at school.

“I made some lifelong friends and I had some incredible experiences and relationships with both some of the monks and teachers and pupils and then I had some which weren’t and I think that’s probably most people’s schooling experience,” he added.

Norton has been in a relationship with actor Imogen Poots since the two starred in a play together in 2017.

“It’s good,” he said of the relationship before going on to explain how normal his life is despite his fledgling career.

“My personal life is very normal,” Norton said. “I have a house in Peckham, my [parents] live in Yorkshire. There’s very little glamour and scandal.”