Northern Irish actor Jamie Dornan repeatedly apologised to his female co-stars in grisly Tv drama The Fall because he felt guilty for subjecting them to his character's creepy behaviour.

The star, who has been cast as the leading man in the upcoming Fifty Shades of Grey movie, plays serial killer Paul Spector, who stalks Belfast picking off his victims.

Dornan now admits he said sorry to the actresses on set every time he had to 'abuse' them in a scary scene.

He tells U.K. talk show host Graham Norton, "I was doing the creepiest things imaginable so I kept apologising to them. It wasn't easy for them and I was very aware of how hard it was so I kept saying sorry during horrible scenes."

Dornan also admits playing Spector was such a harrowing task that he was determined not to let it affect his home life: "It's a brutal head space to maintain. It's not healthy, so I made a point of getting out of character - I definitely didn't want to take him home!"