James Norton helps children learn about diabetes with a CBeebies Bedtime Story

James Norton helps children learn about diabetes with a CBeebies Bedtime Story

The actor is invited to imagine his own diabetes as an animal and he explains it’s a big shaggy dog called Bruce

Happy Valley star James Norton reads a CBeebies Bedtime Story to help young children understand diabetes and how it can be managed.

The actor, who has type one diabetes, reads ‘How to Manage a Mammoth’ written by Dr Rose Stewart and illustrated by Richard Dwyer.

The book, created in collaboration with NHS Wales and published by Cambridge University Press, was written to help families explore how they feel about living with diabetes and encourages them to think of it as an animal, something which won’t go away but which they can learn to accept and manage.

In ‘How to Manage a Mammoth’, 8-year-old Jake is learning to live with his diabetes which he imagines is a mammoth called Mel. Jake and his Mum join forces with their friends to work out how to shrink Mel the diabetes mammoth to a manageable size.

My diabetes animal is a big shaggy dog called Bruce. When I first got Bruce, he was a puppy. He was difficult to control because he was always overexcited. Now, he's a bit older and calmer. 

He still gets scared when someone's at the door or he’s hungry. And then he barks very loudly. Or when he gets excited, he still runs around and knocks things over. But generally he strolls along by my side. Bruce is my pal. I'm pleased to say that today Bruce is under control and very calm, which makes me feel very happy and relaxed

To help families with children who have diabetes, BBC Bitesize Parents’ Toolkit has published an article including advice on coming to terms with a diagnosis from James and tips on how to handle the condition from experts at Diabetes UK and the author of ‘How to Manage a Mammoth’ - Dr Rose Stewart.

James Norton’s CBeebies Bedtime Story will air on CBeebies at 6.50pm on Friday 14 June.

CBeebies Bedtime Story is on each weekday at 6.50pm on CBeebies and BBC iPlayer, bringing families together as little ones settle down at the end of the day and has been a daily, family favourite since the channel launched in 2002. It continues to get the nation reading with its star-studded guests, meaningful partnerships and brilliant stories that inspire a passion for the shared experience of reading.

A digital library of over 300 archived episodes is available on BBC iPlayer CBeebies channel.

About CBeebies Bedtime Story

The first ever celebrity reader was Geoffrey Palmer, who read about the adventures of Beebie the Rabbit in 2002. After more than two decades CBeebies Bedtime Story continues to settle down audiences before bedtime with the magic of shared reading, with the aim of engaging families with the long-term benefits of reading.

Harry Styles, Reese Witherspoon, Tom Hardy, Sir Elton John, Chris Hemsworth, Dolly Parton, David Schwimmer, heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, Jason Momoa, Spice girls Mel C and Geri Halliwell-Horner, Gregory Porter, ABBA legend Bjorn Ulvaeus, Ed Sheeran, Ryan Reynolds, Kate Winslet, Steve Carell, Eddie Redmayne, Chris Evans, Michael Palin, England football captains Harry Kane and Leah Williamson, Dave Grohl, Tom Hiddleston have all read stories that are now available for audiences to relive on BBC iPlayer.

Elsewhere, CBeebies Bedtime Story has seen many other landmark firsts. This includes Strictly Come Dancing champion Rose-Ayling Ellis reading the first ever story in British Sign Language, Rugby champion Rob Burrow reading the first story told using an eye controlled computer, Lora Fachie with the first ever braille story, Catherine, Princess of Wales becoming the first ever royal to read a story, cricketers Katherine Sciver-Brunt and Nat Sciver-Brunt becoming the first LGBTQ+ couple to read a story and astronaut Tim Peake as the first to read from space!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2024/cbeebies-bedtime-story-james-norton