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James Norton to read CBeebies bedtime story about type 1 diabetes

JDRF ambassador James Norton will read a CBeebies Bedtime Story this Diabetes Awareness Week to help young children understand type 1 and how it can be managed
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Breakthrough T1D staff 18 June 2024

James Norton sitting in an armchair holding a teddy that has a CGM on it's arm. There is a plush woolly mammoth next to him.

James will read 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 type 1 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.

Learning to live with type 1

In How to Manage a Mammoth, eight-year-old Jake is learning to live with his type 1, 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 type 1 mammoth to a manageable size.

James Norton, who was diagnosed with the condition at the age of 22, says: “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.”

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

Instagram Live

Come and join us on Instagram at 7pm on Friday 14th June, when we’ll be joined live by James and Dr Rose Stewart. Find out more about the inspiration behind How to Manage a Mammoth and why it’s important to talk about type 1 diabetes and the way it can make us feel.

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