James Norton has opened up about his personal health crisis that unfolded during Jude Law’s acceptance speech at a high-profile awards ceremony. The 40-year-old Happy Valley star – who is set to star in the new BBC period drama King & Conqueror – was diagnosed with diabetes when he was 22-years-old. The actor has previously discussed how he has learned to manage it over the years, but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have difficult days living with the condition.

During an incident at the GQ Men of the Year Awards in November last year, “pandemonium” broke out when the star realised his blood sugar levels had dropped dramatically. The Grantchester star had taken insulin before the event, expecting a carbohydrate-heavy meal.

But instead, he was served a “fashion dinner” with smoked trout and no bread, before a lengthy wait for the main course. He recently told the Off Menu podcast: “I was dripping with sweat.

“I am on the high table sitting opposit Nicole Kidman and there are cameras everywhere; if I stand up, it’s really rude.” Norton quickly became concerned that he would pass out and alerted a waiter nearby.

He went on: “I said, ‘I’m diabetic. You need to help me. I need some orange juice really quickly, please’. That caused pandemonium to break loose. I was looking really ill at this point.”

Staff swiftly brought some orange juice on stage along with a chocolate bar, with the team later adding a bowl of hot potatoes during Law’s speech at the ceremony as they subtly tried to support him.

“Someone back stage had to cook me a bowl of potatoes. Everyone down the table is going, ‘Why are you…?’ I just looked like a potato-loving glutton. In the middle of the speech as well!”

He explained: “It’s fraught when you’re eating out. You can’t time the meal exactly.” Since the incident, Norton revealed that he now wears a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) to track his blood sugars on the go and explained that he would undergo bouts of hypoglycemia, otherwise known as hypos, overnight.

The actor confessed: “[I’d] wake up in a sweaty mess, discombobulated, disoriented, scared. If you’re with a partner, it’s quite scary for them because often hypos are serious things. You lose your mind a bit.”

He added: “Now, way before that happens, we get a beep, which wakes us up. Since then, my glucose is just more controlled. I sleep so much better.”