Endured ‘brutal’ shoot, had been left ‘wailing in pain’

Happy Valley star James Norton has revealed he was hospitalised after being thrown from a horse during filming for an upcoming BBC series.

Actor James, 40, suffered a broken collarbone in the dramatic incident on the King and Conqueror set which left him ‘wailing in pain’.

The telly fave – famed for his portrayal of killer Tommy Lee Royce in BBC drama Happy Valley – also detailed another gory wound that was opened up as a fight scene went down, describing the injury as “terrible”.


James Norton captivated viewers as Tommy Lee Royce in Happy Valley (Credit: BBC iPlayer)

Happy Valley star James Norton hospitalised

James, who has also starred in Grantchester and McMafia, admitted at a preview event how he gutted it out with a broken bone for the rest of the shoot.

Speaking about the historical series concerning the Battle of Hastings, he reflected: “In some of the battle scenes in the latter half of the shoot, I’m yelping very loudly and the yelps are pretty authentic.”

I’m yelping very loudly and the yelps are pretty authentic.

James went on: “I fell off a horse and I landed on my shoulder. Actually it was a remarkably quick recovery and it didn’t affect shooting. Luckily we dealt with it. The collarbone recovers very quickly. It was just quite painful.”

‘I was doing all my own stunts’

James also expressed his trepidation at having to reveal he had taken the knock to show bosses.

He explained: “I was doing all my own stunts. But I had an amazing stunt double who I was in the hospital with. There was a moment where we said: “We’re [blank]ed. Are you going to call, or am I?”‘


James’ breakthrough TV role came in 2014 (Credit: BBC iPlayer)
Furthermore, James also opened up about the fallout after he accidentally bit an extra too hard in a fight scene. He told how he clamped down too hard with his teeth for the fake brawl.

“I literally bit his nose,” James recalled. “The poor guy. I went through his skin. It was terrible. The following day the guy came into rehearsals with a huge bandage. It was like some kind of comedy. But I was just getting really into it.”


‘The following day the guy came into rehearsals with a huge bandage’ (Credit: BBC iPlayer)
James has previously shared that King and Conqueror may not be easy viewing for anyone expecting a “cosy period drama”.

He told Deadline in February: “I was covered in mud and blood and layers of leather. It was a brutal shoot.”

James added the director “had a very clear vision” and “from the very beginning he wanted to avoid this being a clean, cosy period drama.”

“It took me hours every day to get ready because I had layer after layer of leather and chain mail. It paid dividends because you can see everything is so authentic,” the star added.