James Norton has revealed that he was "terrified" of getting his Irish accent wrong in House of Guinness.

The English actor plays Sean Rafferty, a foreman at the Guinness brewery, in a new series exploring the turbulent lives of the famous brewing family in the aftermath of their patriarch's death.

During an appearance on The Graham Norton Show on Friday, Norton admitted that mastering Rafferty's Dublin accent was a daunting task.

"I was terrified of getting it wrong and worked really hard on it - I didn't want to be held to account," he said. "My problem was getting out of the accent because I loved the character so much."

Norton, who has won acclaim for his performances in Little Women and McMafia, spoke passionately about the role, emphasising how much he enjoyed embodying Rafferty.

"I loved playing Sean Rafferty - he is a bad-a**," he shared. "It was delicious being him."

The Happy Valley actor described the series itself as a "smoky, sexy, and irreverent romp".

Norton stars alongside Jack Gleeson, Louis Partridge, Anthony Boyle, Niamh McCormack and Emily Fairn, with the show created by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight.

Spanning eight episodes, House of Guinness follows the lives of the four Guinness siblings after the family patriarch's death. Each sibling harbours ambitions and private scandals, leaving the future of the brewery hanging in the balance.

The Graham Norton Show airs at 10:40pm on Fridays on BBC One.