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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Zoe Delaney

James Norton sends Happy Valley fans wild as he reads his dirty texts as Tommy Lee Royce

James Norton delighted fans recently thanks to reading some sexy texts out loud.

The Happy Valley star, 37, spoke with I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! star Jordan North earlier this month and revealed some of the x-rated messages he often receives on social media.

James, who plays villian Tommy Lee Royce on the BBC series, was a guest on Jordan's Radio 1 show when he also ended up reading some sexy texts sent in by listeners.

"I know we're talking DMs later. I used to get some very strange [ones]," James began when chatting on the radio show."

He went on to add: "Yeah, it was quite inappropriate - I used to get a little bit weirded out.

Happy Valley fans love to hate Tommy Lee Royce (BBC/Red Productions)

"They would sort of say stuff like 'I can't - you're such a monster' and follow up with 'take me to your cellar'"

Later on in the show, the BBC Radio 1 studio got steamy thanks to James switching up his accent and reading some saucy direct messages out for the listeners' pleasure.

The actor - who was privately educated at boarding school - has a very different manner of speaking to his on-screen character, who boasts a strong Yorkshire accent.

James sounds very different to his Happy Valley character in real life (BBC Radio2)
The actor burst out laughing when reading out the steamy texts (BBC Radio2)

After James read out a few sexy messages, Jordan asked him: "Do you know what? Now you've mentioned [Tommy], can you do the next one in his accent?"

Laughing, the actor obliged and changed his tone to read out listener Liz's message about a fruit fanatic.

"I've fallen in love," James began saying in Tommy's accent, before bursting into a fit of giggles.

"Literally everyone in the studio is freaking out," Jordan exclaimed. "The girls in the studio are freaking - I've gone sweaty!"

James' character Tommy is one of TV's biggest villains (BBC/Lookout Point/Matt Squire)

James continued the task, saying "I've fallen in love with ya and I'd like to be your banana partner."

Switching back to his usual intonation, the star asked: "Sorry but what on earth is that?"

Fans of the actor loved the Radio 1 segment - quickly taking to social media to post clips of the chat between James and Jordan.

"Urgh as soon as he goes into Tommy’s voice it repulses me. I hate him in Happy Valley that’s how I know he’s doing a good job," one fan wrote on Twitter as they shared a TikTok.

"Thanks for making evil sexy - I'm so confused right now," another jokingly told James online, with a third adding: "I fancy James Norton a lot more when he's doing that sexy Yorkshire accent!"

James had a very different upbringing to his on-screen character, with the actor attending boarding school as a child.

James attended 'Catholic Eton' as a child but had a tough time at the boarding school (Dave Benett/Getty Images for Her)
The Happy Valley actor with his long-term partner, actress Imogen Poots (Anthony Harvey/BIFA/REX/Shutterstock)

But the star didn't have it easy during his time at the "Catholic Eton", boarding school Ampleforth College.

"My school years were complicated. I didn’t have the greatest time," James recently recalled.

"I was quite badly bullied for five years and I was at boarding school so I couldn’t leave.

"I’ve had a great therapist for the last four years, and it’s not from a place of drama. And I’m luckily not suffering from depression or anything like that but it’s been really, really helpful to understanding what [happened to me at school]."

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