James Norton made a candid confession about how a gruelling stage role he undertook affected his relationship with his ex-fiancée Imogen Poots.  

The Happy Valley star, 39, and the actress, 35, went their separate ways before Christmas, with their split being announced in February.

And now, James has opened up about how his gruelling West End stint in the play A Little Life, an adaptation of Hanya Yanagihara’s novel about sexual abuse, impacted his romance with Imogen.  

James said he gave his life over to the role completely, adding: 'If the work starts to compromise one's relationships, it can become unhealthy. Suddenly you realise you haven’t left any space for other people and so I was p***ed off with that.'

Speaking to The Sunday Times, James also admitted their recent break-up was not his decision.

'Some of the choices recently weren't mine, yet I don’t feel begrudging,' he said. 

'I just mean that you have a certain amount of control over your life and choices you make, and at other times you don't.'

It emerged that James's ex Imogen tried to keep their heartbreaking split a secret.

Despite splitting late last year, the pair decided to keep their break-up on the down low, with a source close to the pair telling MailOnline: 'Imogen, for whatever reason, didn't want people to know.' 

The 'free-spirited' actress previously spoke about how she 'wasn't ready to slow down' as she wanted to travel the world.

However, James has been open about his hopes of wanting a family and admitted three years ago that his 'broody barometer is kicking off'. 

Speaking to The Times, James insisted that however broody he is, he is happy he has waited to have kids as his busy career meant it 'would not have been fair to bring a child into that'.

'Getting older is a struggle if you are freaking out about the choices you’ve made, but I don’t carry regret. And, you know, some of the choices recently weren’t mine, yet I don’t feel begrudging. Maybe next year I’ll have a family and a relationship,' he reflected. 

Imogen split her time between New York and London, but previously insisted: 'I have never known anything to fall apart due to distance'. 

She told The Evening Standard back in 2020: 'It’s all I’ve ever known. I find work to be my happy place, in a way. Because it’s all I’ve ever known: packing up a bag and moving on.

'That restlessness that’s inherent in you is very addictive. And I suppose now I’m supposed to slow down and set up a farm or something. But I’m not ready to do that. I want to keep exploring the world.' 

James previously said his 2020 film, Nowhere Special, in which he played the dying father of a three-year-old boy, kicked off his desire to become a dad.

He told The Guardian in 2021: 'I’m mid-30s, I’ve always wanted a family, my sister has kids, my broody barometer is kicking off anyway.'

In an interview last year to promote the Happy Valley finale, James said of his busy acting life: 'It comes as a cost because you don't see each other a lot, but we are willing to pay that for the benefit of having someone in your life close to you who gets it, who is forgiving, who will give up their Sunday to do an annoying self-tape.'

'James and Imogen have extremely busy work lives and it has made it difficult for them to see each other,' a source told The Sun amid their split.

'They grew apart and split up last year. It hasn't been easy for either of them but they are keeping their heads down and getting on with things.'

The couple's romance began in December 2017 after they met during a run of the play Belleville at the Donmar Warehouse.

In 2020, Imogen moved into James's London pad, before setting up home together and after five years of dating they got engaged in February 2022.

Imogen was last seen with James at Wimbledon in July last year.