Normal People has gained huge attention since it appeared on our screens last month, but the BBC series' star, Daisy Edgar-Jones, revealed that things almost didn't run quite so smoothly behind the scenes. Speaking during a recent appearance on the How to Fail with Elizabeth Day podcast, the 21-year-old explained her terror the night before the first day of filming when she was convinced she'd had an allergic reaction!
"It is quite funny, I can laugh about it now," she began, "It was the day before, [and] the first day on set of anything is terrifying, [but] I'd had a wisdom tooth problem the month before and I remember the doctor had said [at the time] 'are you allergic to corsodyl?' and I said 'I don't think so' and he said 'well if you don't know you better not risk it' and I don't know why but I bought myself corsodyl because I thought 'Oh it's good for a wisdom teeth and I don't want that to flare up again!'"
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© Photo: BBCThe actress was terrified she had an allergic reaction that would get in the way of filming
She continued: "Because if you get ill when you're filming, there's nothing you can do because it'll cost a lot of money to not go to work, so I was so scared about sabotaging the whole [series] by getting sick in some way, so I took some corsodyl and then convinced myself I was having an allergic reaction to it. And my poor boyfriend, who has been the best thing for helping me with hypochondria and anxiety, had to convince me that I hadn't, which I hadn't, so I lived through the night which is good!"
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© Photo: BBCThe actress has received high praise for her role in the show
The story came soon after the actress spoke candidly about her anxiety and battle with hypochondria and how that got in the way of her work during the same podcast episode. The actress, who has also appeared in shows such as Cold Feet and War of the Worlds, explained: "I auditioned and I got close and I found that very anxiety making and I really struggled for a while... when I feel anxious it comes out in different ways for me. One of the ways is that I struggle with hypochondria. I had a lot more free time because my friends were away at university and I did think, 'Gosh, am I missing out on life experience?' and so I would get quite anxious."
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