Happy Valley star James Norton feels like he has ‘become a man’ after break-up

Happy Valley star James Norton has said he feels like he has “become a man” following the break-up of a six-year relationship.

Norton, 39, said he initially found it hard but said he would always be friends with the woman, who he did not name, during a talk, called Daring To Change, on The Information stage at Glastonbury Festival on Thursday.

Norton said: “It’s very f****** hard, but it happened in a very abrupt way, and it happened kind of to me, and I thought that I was on a path.

“I was about to have kids, about to get married, all that kind of stuff, and my life just turned around, completely changed direction.

“And I thought I lost the person, but I also lost the life that I was about to lead, and the kids that we named, all that kind of stuff.

“And actually, in the last year and a half, I have gone through the most monumental change as a result, and I feel like I’ve grown up, I feel like I’ve become a man.

“I suddenly feel like I’ve grown up, I found some friends, relationships, the outpouring of love from my family around me was amazing.

“I ended up going to a Buddhist retreat in the south of France called Plum Village, anyone been to Plum Village? If you haven’t, you should go.

“It’s the best place in the world, and I went because I was in this pit of pain, and now I have this community.

“It’s a Zen Buddhist community, it’s amazing, and if you haven’t gone, really look it up, it really does change your life.

“But so much has been born from that massive, radical change.”

Norton, who also played Sidney Chambers in ITV drama Grantchester, has been romantically linked to 36-year-old English actress Imogen Poots and artist Charlotte Rose Smith.

During the chat, he added: “I was very much like the furious optimist, it was hard, I love that person (the unnamed woman) so much, and I will always love her, she’s amazing, and we will have a relationship forever I hope, and there’s no resentment.

“And actually, in a weird way, I kind of owe her so much, because she was the one who took it upon herself to make that massive decision, and she gave me a gift, she gave me this opportunity to grow up.”

The London-born actor starred as Tommy Lee Royce in BBC drama Happy Valley, and has also appeared in Doctor Who, crime drama McMafia and sci-fi drama The Nevers.