Daisy Edgar-Jones struggles with hypochondria and anxiety

She said: "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 from 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."

And the 22-year-old actress decided to take a year out before going to university to focus on her acting career, as she admitted it was "heartbreaking" being passed on for roles she desperately wanted.

Speaking on the How to Fail podcast, she added: "When I left school I got quite good A-levels, and I really thought about going [to university]. I did apply to a few places and got in, but I'd had an agent since I was 16 ... so I thought I'd give it a year to see if I could maybe get something ... it's so difficult because it's never guaranteed ... By the end of the year I'd gotten another couple of small parts but nothing like 'Normal People', so I thought I'd keep trying ... It's heartbreaking [when you lose out at an audition] and there's the odd one that's really hard to get over and sometimes when I didn't get those parts I'd spiral into doubts about whether I should go to university."