Ask people to describe the youngest child in a family and you’ll likely hear some version of the same story. They’re spoiled, carefree, the favourite, the fun one – the kid who got away with everything while the older siblings paved the way for them. It’s one of the most persistent ideas in pop psychology.

But actual youngest siblings – and the therapists who work with them – say it’s also one of the most wrong.

“I think the biggest myth people push back on is the idea that youngest children have it easy,” Caitlyn Oscarson, a licensed marriage and family therapist, told HuffPost. “I don’t think many youngest children find that to be true, and the research doesn’t really support that idea either.”

This stereotype of a spoiled child who has an easier life isn’t just inaccurate but also harmful, shaping how families treat their youngest members and how those kids come to see themselves as adults.

“Many clients who push back against stereotypes do it more commonly with the one that they are spoiled or the favoured one,” said licensed clinical marriage and family therapist Robin Hamilton. “They hate that, because they typically do not feel that way, even though others in the family might feel jealous and see it that way.”

Indeed, the reality is far more complicated.

“Some youngest siblings may get more freedom, have fewer responsibilities and grow up with less strict versions of their parents,” Oscarson said. “But they also might feel underestimated and have their experiences minimised.”

Youngest siblings may also feel the burden of their older siblings’ resentment, absorbing blame for a family dynamic they had no say in creating. Chloë Bean, a licensed marriage and family therapist, pointed to the notion that the youngest is the “baby” who is inherently spoiled and gets all the attention

“This backfires because they spend their lives trying to prove they’re not immature or coddled, which creates pressure that can chip away at self-confidence,” she explained.

Meanwhile, many youngest siblings actually describe feeling more overlooked than overindulged. With more freedom can also come an assumption that they don’t need as much guidance or emotional support.

The myth of the favoured youngest child who has everything easy also brings a notion of an inherently fun, easygoing sibling who doesn’t take things too seriously.

“One of the biggest myths I hear challenged in therapy is the idea that youngest siblings have it ‘easy’ simply because they’re seen as the carefree, fun or favorite child,” said Priya Tahim, a licensed professional counsellor and the founder of Kaur Counseling.

“While that may be true for some families, it’s far from a universal experience. Many youngest siblings share that being labelled as ‘the baby’ often comes with having their emotions dismissed, their opinions minimised, or their independence questioned well into adulthood.”

Some also express feeling a sense of pressure to maintain that easygoing, humorous role because that’s what their family expects of them.

“I see youngest siblings who grew up believing they had to be the ‘easy’ one or the lighthearted one, because the family already had its hands full,” Bean said.

For many, that status as “the fun one” is more of a survival strategy than a personality. And Altheresa Clark, a licensed clinical social worker and founder of Inspire4Purpose, emphasised that being the life of the party in the family doesn’t mean there aren’t deeper underlying feelings and issues.

“Many youngest siblings have learned to use humour or an easygoing personality as a way to keep peace within the family, even while privately struggling with anxiety, self-doubt or feeling misunderstood,” she explained.

“Some youngest siblings genuinely do present as the ‘fun’ and carefree one, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t carrying emotional weight,” Tahim echoed. “In therapy, we often explore whether that identity is an authentic part of who they are or a role they learned to play within their family. Humour, spontaneity and being the easygoing sibling can become ways of maintaining harmony, avoiding conflict or making sure they’re liked and accepted.”

The pressure to be easygoing can also lead to youngest children who struggle with naming and expressing their emotions – all while catering to the family members’ feelings.

“There’s a hyper-awareness of others’ emotions,” said Mabel Yiu, a licensed marriage and family therapist and founder of the Women’s Therapy Institute. “Having less power in the household teaches kids to read the people above them as a survival skill. This often shows up as people pleasing in adulthood, and the work is turning that emotional awareness back toward their own needs.”

In the context of therapy, recognising this dynamic becomes the starting point for something more meaningful.

“In therapy, the goal is learning to trust that you’re allowed to take up space, have needs and be respected as you are, not because you out-performed everyone’s low expectations,” Bean said. “Youngest siblings I work with are working toward being taken seriously without going into their usual pattern of over-functioning. So much of their identity was built around being the easy one or proving they’re not the baby in the room.”

Setting boundaries, maintaining those limits and asserting needs without guilt or apology are huge steps for youngest siblings who spent years making themselves small to keep the peace.

There is also grief work in untangling their true identity from the role that was assigned to them by virtue of birth order. All of this points to a broader truth that therapists are quick to emphasize: Birth order is only one piece of a much larger picture, and it’s a less powerful one than most people assume.

“Birth order can certainly influence family dynamics, but it should never be viewed as the sole explanation for someone’s personality or emotional experiences,” Clark said.

“Factors such as parenting style, family stress, culture, age gaps between siblings and significant life events often have an even greater impact. The most important takeaway is that every individual’s experience is unique, and therapy focuses on understanding how those experiences shaped the person rather than assuming their birth order tells the whole story.”

The research bears that out as well.

“When you dive into the research on this topic, what you’ll find is that birth order is far less predictive of adult personality than it is widely believed to be,” said Natalie Moore, a licensed marriage and family therapist. “It is actually the more intricate family roles, dynamics and different parental treatment that have a far greater impact on how someone behaves, relates to others and copes as an adult.”

In her practice, she asks clients questions about the specific role they occupied in their family – what was expected of them, how they were treated, how they fit into an established system – and how those dynamics might still be present in their adult interactions today.

“I think anecdotally we all have ideas about common traits of firstborn, middle and youngest children, but the research doesn’t often back those ideas up,” Oscarson said. “There is also no major difference in rates of issues like anxiety and depression among birth orders, which are often major reasons people seek therapy in the first place.”

That doesn’t mean it’s not worth considering birth order when setting goals and exploring oneself in therapy. After all, birth order is a fascinating topic that can shape many of our experiences.

“Birth order can offer a helpful framework for understanding family dynamics, but it should never be used to define someone’s personality or predict their mental health,” Tahim said. “Two youngest siblings can grow up in completely different households and have vastly different experiences depending on parenting styles, family stressors, culture, attachment and temperament.”

Ultimately, the work is less about birth order and more about understanding the specific story you were handed. Then you can decide which parts of it still serve you and which don’t.

“The goal isn’t to change who you are,” Tahim noted. “It’s to create enough awareness to decide which parts of your story you want to carry forward and which parts you’re ready to rewrite.”

Labour has increased its lead over Reform UK as a new poll confirmed a surge of support under new prime minister Andy Burnham.

A poll of polls compiled by Election Maps UK put Labour on 25.6%, with Reform on 24.3%.

It is a far cry from the start of the year, when Reform led Labour by 10 points.

Both parties were neck-and-neck on July 24, but since then a succession of polls have put Labour in the lead.

The latest, released by Ipsos UK on Sunday, shows Labour has leapfrogged Reform since June.

It put Burnham’s party on 28%, a four-point jump since two months ago.

Over the same period, support for Reform has dropped from 26% to 25%.

The reversal in both parties’ fortunes has coincided with Burnham replacing Keir Starmer as PM last month.

Meanwhile, Reform leader Nigel Farage has been at the centre of controversy over a £5 million gift he received from the Thailand-based crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne and did not declare.

Parliment’s standards commissioner launched an investigation, but that was put on hold when Farage resigned as MP for Clacton to trigger a “people versus the establishment” by-election in the seat.

He is expected to be re-elected when that takes place on Thursday, although his only serious rival is Count Binface after Labour, the Tories, the Lib Dems and Restore Britain all refused to put up candidates.

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My maternal grandparents were married for a remarkable 65 years, remaining devoted to each other through good times and bad until, as many marital vows state: death did they part.

Was their marriage perfect? Not at all. My grandmother was born in Sicily, where passionate, fiery tempers are common. My grandfather had Calabrian roots – his family was from a region in Southern Italy where people are also known for being hot-tempered and stubborn (as my grandmother informed me on numerous occasions when my grandfather had gotten in trouble with her yet again). Needless to say, there were plenty of animated arguments between them over the years.

Despite both having passionate Italian temperaments, their love endured for decades, and much can be gleaned from their marriage. My grandfather in particular was always doling out advice. Chief among his tips was always treating each other with respect and respecting the institution of marriage.

With decades of life experience under their belt, grandparents have much wisdom to impart. That includes marriage and its inevitable ups and downs.

“Much of the marriage advice grandparents pass down has stood the test of time because it reflects what modern relationship science now confirms,” explained Emily Longo, a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) with Silver Hill Hospital in Connecticut.

“Grandparents may not use terms like ‘emotional responsiveness’ or ‘conflict repair,’ but some advice may be remarkably aligned to today’s values and boils down to: Marry someone you genuinely enjoy being with, be kind and don’t keep score.”

Read on for some of the marriage advice that grandparents from coast to coast would give their grandchildren.

At the risk of stating the obvious, choosing a life partner carefully is an important first step in laying the groundwork for a successful marriage. Finding someone who’s able to stick with a marriage through the bad times as well as the good can make a big difference.

California resident Perry Solomon, a grandfather and author of Grandpa Day: Nurturing Grit, Smarts, and Love in the Next Generation, has shared this bit of advice with his own grandchildren.

“Choose a life partner who will not only celebrate your successes, but also stand beside you during times of failure,” Solomon told HuffPost. “We are all human and will experience failures along with successes. The support of your life partner during difficult times can be essential.”

In my own family, the saying “actions speak louder than words” is used nearly weekly. It’s a statement that applies to many situations, and Solomon says it applies to marriage, where each partner’s actions offer a meaningful way to show love and support.

“Show up, pay attention, and listen for the meaning behind what your life partner is saying,” advised Solomon. “Your actions will often matter far more than your words.”

It can be helpful in a marriage or with any important relationship in your life to remember that no one is perfect, and that includes you.

“If you are expecting any person to be perfect, you will be disillusioned,” explained Ruth Nemzoff, a grandparent and author of Don’t Roll Your Eyes: Making In-Laws Into Family and Don’t Bite Your Tongue: How to Foster Rewarding Relationships With Your Adult Children.

“When you accept that the other person is imperfect, you gain the right to ask the other person to understand you, too,” Nemzoff said.

Both parties in a marriage will make mistakes, Nemzoff added. Both will be imperfect. “When you forgive someone else for their imperfections, you could ask that you too be forgiven,” Nemzoff said.

It’s only natural to get upset with your partner from time to time. But how you handle those feelings matters.

Washington state resident Naomi Aldort, grandmother of three and author of “Listen to Your Baby: Responding to Your Child’s Cues for Optimal Development and Joyful Connection, said it’s important to give your significant other the benefit of the doubt.

“Assume he or she meant well and ask questions that will help you understand the how or why,” advised Aldort. “My husband used to do things without my knowledge, like buying a new van. At the time, this angered me. I didn’t listen to his repeated words, ‘I am sparing you the trouble.’ He did spare me a lot of tedious difficulties.”

Those experiences taught Aldort to focus on identifying her husband’s intent and learning to appreciate the reason behind something he said or did. She advises others to do the same, even in cases when you’re asking your partner not to do the thing that may have upset you again in the future.

The things that erode marriage satisfaction aren’t always the big things. A marriage can also be undermined by the small “irritating” things that seem to build up over time, said North Carolina resident Michelle Pippin, grandmother of four.

“The time he forgot to make dinner reservations for Valentine’s Day comes back up 18 months later when he forgot to get flowers for Mother’s Day,” explained Pippin, founder and CEO of Women Who WOW, a platform for women entrepreneurs. “Holding on to the small stuff has a way of eroding the joy and partnership you could be building in your marriage.”

When your spouse speaks harshly in moments of frustration or anger, try to react with mercy rather than anger.

“It may take some intentional effort to move past your defensive reaction, to finding compassion, yet it is the way to connect with his or her pain and offer compassion rather than self-centred anger,” Aldort explained.

Similarly, Aldort advised using the phrase “tell me more” when a partner is upset or angry, to help diffuse the situation.

“It’s an invitation for connection and care,” Aldort explained. “Use it when your partner is upset and accusative, or even hateful, and listen with your loving heart.”

You may even try asking: “‘What do you hate or feel hurt by me the most?’ You would be amazed at the connection this creates,” Aldort said.

Sometimes being part of a relationship can cause you to lose sight of your own interests and passions, especially during the course of years of marriage. But Joy Fox, author of Finding Joy – My Life Began When I Pawned the Ring, said one of the keys to her 55-year marriage was maintaining her own interests.

“Don’t try to change each other. Stay true to your own unique self; it makes you who you are,” Fox said.

“Don’t drown in the partner’s personality,” Fox added. “Find ways to enjoy those activities that you mutually enjoy, and find the time to pursue separately those interests that you enjoy.”

Translation: You don’t have to be joined at the hip for everything. Give each other the space to grow.

Ultimately, no marriage is perfect. But enduring marriages often result from a strong foundation. And that foundation is typically based on fundamentals like: Do you enjoy each other’s company? Do you share the same approach to living? Do you share similar views on issues or areas of life that are important to you, whether it’s faith, family, politics or something else?

“People change and grow, but a firm foundation is really critical because every week, you’re continually building this marriage of yours,” Pippin said. “Fight the fights that matter and ignore the rest. Always come back to what you love to do together.”

Wes Streeting has suffered an “unbelievable volume” of homophobic abuse since becoming defence secretary, he has revealed.

He said it was clear that many people online “cannot cope with the idea” of a gay man in the role.

Streeting was brought back into the cabinet by Andy Burnham after resigning as health secretary under Keir Starmer.

Speaking at the Edinburgh Fringe festival, he said his sexuality had been “almost entirely unremarked upon in the media” when he was put in charge of the Ministry of Defence.

But he said that “online it matters to a lot of people”.

Streeting said said the role was an opportunity for him to “challenge this sort of stereotype that clearly persists in dark corners of the internet”.

Despite the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967, it remained a criminal offence for military personnel until 1994.

Even after that date, homosexuality remained classed as “conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline” until 2000, meaning service personnel could still be dismissed for being gay.

Streeting added: “I am proud of the fact that in my lifetime we’ve gone from gay people not being allowed to serve in the military to a gay defence secretary.

“And in my first week, someone in the MoD said to me, you know, as a gay man, I’m really proud that we have our first gay defence secretary, and it means a lot to many of us who remember the bad old days.”

Streeting also said Andy Burnham “probably” would not have become prime minister if he had not resigned as health secretary.

“What I think my resignation did that week was force choices for others,” he said.

Streeting also revealed that he had ditched his plan to challenge for the Labour leadership after talks with Burnham during the Makerfield by-election campaign.

He said: “I sort of went in with the aim of saying I think we can show a different way of doing politics in terms of how we debate the future of the Labour Party and how we conduct ourselves in a contest.

“And we sat around over a cup of tea, talking about what had gone wrong. And inevitably, when you talk about what’s gone wrong, you give hints to each other about what you think you need to do to make it right.

“And the more we were talking, the more I was thinking, how much do I fundamentally disagree with this guy on anything?”

Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

If you’ve ever taken antibiotics, you might’ve noticed your digestive system took a bit of a hit.

On a very simple level, the medication targets bacteria in the body to kill off the bad stuff – unfortunately it can also get rid of the good stuff, too.

Research suggests antibiotic-associated diarrhoea can occur in 5-30% of people either during the early stages of them taking antibiotics, or up to two months after.

These loose stools are one of the “clearest signs” that antibiotics are impacting your gut health, according to Dr Megan Rossi, a gut health scientist at King’s College London and founder of Smart Strains.

“The extent to which antibiotics affect the gut depends on several factors,” she told HuffPost UK.

“Firstly, the type of antibiotic matters. Some antibiotics are narrow-spectrum, meaning they target specific bacteria, while others are broad-spectrum and affect a much wider range of bacteria, including many of the beneficial microbes that live in our gut.

“Dose is another important factor, and repeated or prolonged courses of antibiotics can also have a greater cumulative impact on the gut microbiome.”

Dr Michael Passarella, a gastroenterologist at The University of Alabama Birmingham St. Vincent’s Hospital, suggested it’s “difficult to truly ‘protect’ the microbiome” while taking antibiotics.

That said, certain probiotics, “especially Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium and Saccharomyces boulardii, have shown to reduce the risk of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea,” Dr Passarella previously said. “They are safe to use, but the long-term benefits are uncertain.”

Dr Rossi points to recommendations from the The World Gastroenterology Organisation that people on antibiotics should take 10 billion CFU of the specific bacterial strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG), twice daily, alongside antibiotic treatment to help reduce the risk of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea.

“This is the exact formulation used in Smart Strains [Dr Rossi’s own brand] for When You’re on Antibiotics,“ she added.

“The formulation has been shown to reduce antibiotic-associated diarrhoea by around 70% compared with placebo in both adults and children in randomised controlled trials.”

Probiotics might also help, but Dr Rossi notes that not all probiotics are the same. “Each different type of bacteria, known scientifically as a strain, has different effects, so the evidence for one strain cannot be applied to another,” she explained.

“Just as I wouldn’t recommend an iron supplement to treat a vitamin D deficiency, I wouldn’t recommend a generic probiotic when the evidence supports a specific strain.”

If your probiotic contains the LGG strain, that is a good sign. Dr Rossi notes the World Gastroenterology Organisation recommends taking this type of strain during your antibiotic course, rather than waiting until it’s finished.

“The recommended dose is 10 billion CFU twice daily, ideally taken a couple of hours away from the antibiotic dose. I also recommend continuing it for at least one week after finishing the antibiotic course to help support recovery of the gut microbiome,” she added.

Dr Passarella also suggested that you don’t need to go for the expensive brands as “some of the commonly found over-the-counter options are just as effective”.

“A high CFU count isn’t necessarily better. The specific strain matters more than the number of bacteria,” he added.

Diet is also a big consideration during this time. Dr Passarella noted “fibre basically acts as a prebiotic”.

“If probiotics are the good bacteria, prebiotics are the food they need to thrive,” he explained, adding that it’s important to eat fruit, vegetables and other fibre-rich foods while taking antibiotics.

Some healthcare providers recommend eating more yoghurt with live cultures while taking antibiotics (providing you’re not sensitive to it).

Yoghurt contains Lactobacillus acidophilus, according to Dr Ravinder Machra, of West Tennessee Medical Group Primary Care. This can help “reup your bacterial balance while you’re taking an antibiotic”, she said.

Fermented foods such as kimchi and sauerkraut may also help.

Thanks to House Of The Dragon and House Of Guinness, James Norton is becoming an international hot property.

However, the Bafta nominee has already been a regular on British screens for nearly 15 years, since rising to fame as the lovable vicar Sidney Chambers in the ITV detective drama Grantchester and the villainous Tommy Lee Royce in Happy Valley.

Since his on-screen debut in the 2010s, James has gone on to appear in a wide array of projects on both the big and small screens – though, admittedly, not all of them have stood the test of time.

As his star continues to rise, here are 13 James Norton roles you may have forgotten about…

One of James’ earliest notable appearances came when he was cast as Mr Henry Alveston in Death Comes To Pemberley.

The BBC murder mystery drama was an adaptation of the P. D. James novel of the same name, starring Matthew Rhys, Anna Maxwell Martin and Jenna Coleman as characters in the same universe as Jane Austen’s Pride And Prejudice.

Taking place six years after Mr Darcy’s wedding to Elizabeth Bennet, the show followed the investigation into the murder of Captain Martin Denny on the grounds of Pemberley house.

James’ character, Dr Henry, was a lawyer and legal reformer who was involved in the court case, and also served as a love interest to Georgiana, Mr Darcy’s sister.

James played Sir Clifford Chatterley in one of the many adaptations of DH Lawrence’s scandalous 1928 novel.

This TV movie version starred Holliday Grainger as Lady Chatterley and Richard Madden as Oliver Mellors.

In Lady Chatterley’s Lover, James played the war veteran husband of the titular character, who is paralysed from the waist down after returning from World War I.

Written and directed by Line Of Duty creator Jed Mercurio, the BBC adaptation also featured Jodie Comer and Edward Holcroft.

The BBC miniseries War & Peace is now renowned for its star-studded cast, many of whom went on to become huge names in Hollywood – James included.

The Leo Tolstoy adaptation starred future household names including Jessie Buckley, Lily James, Jack Lowden and Callum Turner, alongside more established actors Paul Dano, Brian Cox and Stephen Rea.

War & Peace followed five aristocratic Russian families as they navigated society, love and the French invasion of Russia under Napoleon between 1805 and 1820.

In the six-part drama, James played the nihilistic Andrei Bolkonsky, the son of the strict retired general Prince Nikolai Bolkonsky and the brother of Princess Marya.

Andrei spends much of the show frustrated with the superficiality of his high society life, trying to find a higher purpose.

That same year, James also appeared in the first instalment of Black Mirror’s third season (and its first as a big-budget Netflix original), entitled Nosedive.

Bryce Dallas Howard took the lead in the episode, which took place in a not-too-distant dystopian future, where people rated each other after each interaction via a smartphone app.

James played Ryan, the laid-back, videogame-obsessed brother of Bryce’s Lacie. Unlike his sister, Ryan was nonplussed about society’s opinions of him, rejecting the superficiality and spending most of the episode hiding behind a VR set, while Lacie desperately sought the affirmation of those around her.

The episode is still one of Black Mirror’s highest rated and best remembered offerings ever, with The AV Club commending the episode for painting “a darker picture, of a world in which the instant gratification of online approval has spread outward”.

You’d be forgiven for forgetting they ever remade Flatliners, let alone that it featured James Norton.

Meanwhile, the 2017 reboot starred Elliot Page, Diego Luna, Nina Dobrev and Kiersey Clemons alongside James as medical students who try to conduct experiments that create near-death experiences.

The remake, which also acted as a sequel, was slammed by critics and now holds a measly 4% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Around the release of the ill-fated Flatliners, James also played a supporting role in Hampstead, alongside Brendan Gleeson and the late Diane Keaton.

The romantic comedy-drama was based on the real-life story of Harry Hallowes, who lived on a camp on Hampstead Heath, and successfully battled property developers, successfully claiming adverse possession when they tried to evict him.

Brendan played Donald, who served as a fictionalised version of the late Hallowes, with Diane starring as an American widow whom he befriends after she tries to help him.

James appeared as her well-meaning son, who was worried about the financial and personal burden Donald was putting on his mother.

Although made in 2017, the film’s release was delayed until 2019, reportedly due the allegations made against Harvey Weinstein, who had acquired the US distribution rights to the film around that time.

The movie was met with mixed reviews with Variety calling the unlikely rom-com “gentle, attractively appointed and phonier-than-thou Britcom in the Richard Curtis mould”.

BBC audiences were absolutely hooked on the crime drama McMafia when it premiered in 2018.

In the gripping series, James played Alex Godman, a young financier who became embroiled in a life of crime, rubbing shoulders with the Russian mafia and the Mexican cartel.

Inspired by a non-fiction book by journalist Misha Glenny, the series also starred David Strathairn and Juliet Rylance.

“This isn’t just a story of the sexy side of the mafia which people are attracted to, but also the cost of that lavish lifestyle, how it’s paid and who pays for it,” James teased to iNews in 2017.

Another big-budget BBC drama James Norton appeared in was The Trial Of Christine Keeler. Airing at the end of 2019 and start of 2020, the miniseries followed the real-life events of the 1963 Profumo Affair.

Sophie Skelton played Christine Keeler, the model who became involved in a national scandal when she had an affair with two married men. The 21-year-old was entangled with both a Soviet Union attache and the UK Secretary of State for War, John Profumo, during the Cold War,

James played Stephen Ward, a well-connected osteopath and artist who was dragged into the scandal when he introduced Profumo to the then 19-year-old Christine Keeler. He was also friends with the Soviet attaché and was later involved in the cover-up.

At the time, James’ most high-profile job to date came when he appeared in 2019’s Little Women, directed by Greta Gerwig.

The British star appeared alongside an illustrious cast including Saoirse Ronan, Timothée Chalamet and Florence Pugh, playing the hardworking tutor John Brooke.

In the film, his character married Emma Watson’s Meg March, with whom he has two children.

“I was very aware of the calibre of people on that set. I spent most of my time standing in the corner just trying to soak as much of it as I possibly could,” he told Variety at the Cannes Film Festival, calling working with the star-studded cast a “total privilege”.

One of James’ most critically-acclaimed projects is the 2020 indie film Nowhere Special, in which he played a single father with a terminal illness.

James starred as John, a man who must make arrangements for his four-year-old son after learning he has terminal cancer, while also shielding the young boy from his inevitable death.

In 2021, the actor was nominated for a British Independent Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in the drama. Nowhere Special holds a rare 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with The Guardian praising James’ “spine-tingling, intimate performance”, and the BFI calling him “grounded and genuine” in the role.

Set in Victorian London, the series followed a group of people who acquired abnormal abilities after a mysterious supernatural event.

In the steampunk series, James played Hugo Swann, an aristocratic pansexual man who owns a private club and is known for extorting customers.

In 2021, James called his character an “absolute joy to play”, telling Radio Times: “I love being able to let rip, and tap into that dark, wonderful, bawdy side of humanity. We’re all desperate to be Hugo Swann, but we’re all too repressed to actually give it a go.”

Kingsley Ben-Adir won acclaim and critical nods for his leading performance role as Bob Marley in the 2022 biopic, One Love.

The biopic followed the reggae legend’s career from his mid 70s success through to his untimely death in 1981.

In the film, James played the record producer and founder of Island Records, Chris Blackwell, who represented artists like Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff and Peter Tosh, and is credited with helping bring reggae music to the wider world.

James researched the mogul extensively and consulted with art director Neville Garrick to capture the producer’s personal dynamic with the late reggae singer.

He told Screen Rant about the importance of Neville and Bob’s son Ziggy Marley’s involvement with the project.

“Having those guys there, both in terms of just the references and the historical advice was brilliant, but it was a bigger, more profound presence,” he enthused.

Just last year, James both starred in and executive produced the four-part ITV drama Playing Nice, kicking off a run of prolific projects that included King & Conqueror for the BBC and House Of Guinness for Netflix.

In the show, James and Niamh Algar played a husband and wife, who discovered that their child had been swapped with another couple’s in the same hospital when they were newborns babies.

The series followed the couple as they tried to “play nice” and co-parent their biological child, while still raising the toddler they believed to be their own.

However, tensions quickly rose when legal threats were made by the other set of parents.

The show was one of ITV1’s highest-rated new dramas of 2025, breaking ITVX records with its viewing figures.

Digital Spy hailed Playing Nice as “the kind of show that will plague your mind in an infuriating, all-consuming, perfectly addictive way, although it did face some criticism due its storyline.

James hit back at the critics at the time, insisting: “Family, either your parents or your children, they are the thing which you have that 4am anxiety about,” he said.

“So this… I mean, look, I don’t want to push back [but] the people who are finding it too much – it’s drama!”

House Of The Dragon’s third season concludes on Monday on HBO Max, Sky and Now in the UK.