The BBC fulfils a wonderful cultural function. Maybe the problem is that it feels it needs to be everything to everybody.

My wife likes history and documentaries, but I'm not so keen on them. I generally go and do some work if there's one of those on.

I'm not one of these people who say how much better American drama is than English. I find it mostly too American, except for The Sopranos, which I think is the best thing.

The older I get, the more fun it is to write young people. It's just a holiday from what is becoming old age, really.

Novels often have leisurely openings; a TV drama needs an arresting opening.

One of the things I've always thought is a drag in so many period adaptations is that they are always buttoned up to the neck in so many clothes all the time. I'm always looking for excuses to get them out of their clothes.

I had a mother who was very emotionally demanding, wanting to be the centre of attention. As they say in EastEnders, she thought it was all about 'er. I spent a lot of time trying to work out what was going on.