'It's 2015. People have sex!' Lady Chatterley star James Norton defends raunchy BBC adaptation as 'relevant' and claims it will encourage youngsters to read the classics
- James Norton, 29, plays an impotent aristocrat in the upcoming adaption
- It is based on DH Laurence's controversial novel, first published in 1928
- James insists that modern people are 'no longer shocked' by sex
Actor James Norton has defended BBC One's raunchy adaption of Lady Chatterley's Lover by saying it's important for costume dramas to be 'relevant' to modern times.
James, who plays the impotent husband of the lead female character in the upcoming show, believed people were no longer shocked in today's era.
Speaking to the Radio Times, the 29-year-old actor said: 'People have sex. In 2015, we are no longer shocked by this, and we are no longer shocked that people in books also have sex.
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Actor James Norton, pictured in March, has defended BBC One's upcoming adaption of Lady Chatterley's Lover by saying it's important for costume dramas to be 'relevant' to modern times
'I’m not suggesting Lady Chatterley’s Lover as ideal children’s viewing, but if we make classic stories relevant, maybe that will encourage everyone to go back to the original text.'
Speculation is rife over just how much sex will appear in the latest screen adaptation of DH Lawrence’s novel, first published privately in 1928, about an aristocratic woman’s affair with a working-class gamekeeper.
Until 1960, the book was banned from being published in full in the UK, on the grounds of its explicit descriptions of sex and its use of then-unprintable words.
Central to the plot is Constance Chatterley, played by Holliday Grainger, who is torn between her genuine love for her husband Clifford and her lust for the enthralling gamekeeper Mellors, played by Games of Thrones star Richard Madden.
The novel commences with Clifford's return from the Great War, having sustained a grisly injury that prevents him from having sex.
James, who plays Clifford (left), the impotent husband of the lead female character Lady Constance Chatterley (right), hopes the show will encourage young people to read the classic novel
In the plot, Lady Chatterley, played by Holliday Grainger (right), is torn between her genuine love for her husband and her lust for the enthralling gamekeeper Mellors, played by Richard Madden (right)
Speaking of his character, James said: 'Clifford suffers horribly from the fact that he’s unable to satisfy his wife. It’s alluded to in the book, but our story slightly pulls the curtains back on that.'
According to the actor, the BBC's script, led by Jed Mercurio, presents Clifford more as victim - and thus less 'despised' than his portrayal in Lawrence's 1928 novel.
He also draws a culturally-relevant parallel between army veterans then and now.
He said: 'You hear about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a generalised way, but you don’t hear about the strain put on couples when a young man comes home from Afghanistan or Iraq either with PTSD or a serious injury.
'It was glossed over in Lawrence’s day and it’s pretty much glossed over now.'
James Norton (left) as Clifford, Holliday Grainger (centre) as Constance and Richard Madden (right) as Mellors
James Norton (left) has appeared in Doctor Who, Holliday Grainger (centre) has appeared in Great Expectations, and Richard Madden (right) found fame in Game of Thrones and then as Prince Kit in Disney's latest adaption of Cinderella
James Norton, who holds a degree in theology from Cambridge University, remarks that he was 'very lucky' to have parents and teachers who made reading 'exciting' for him.
'Kids now are used to so much immediacy when it comes to entertainment, they’re used to short cuts,' he pointed out. 'TV adaptations have a real role to play here.
'We need stories like these to teach us how to live, and love, and all the rest. They’re part of the fabric of who we are.'
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