I adore doing classic adaptations, but I also feel their frustrations and their limitations.

I'd love to adapt more contemporary novels. But there isn't really enough story and character to make a really satisfying serial, so they tend to be single dramas.

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'm absolutely delighted if people think of me as a reliable purveyor of quality period stuff.

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

I was getting rewarded for writing well, from about the age of five or six. A teacher would say, "Look what Andrew has written," and I thought, "Maybe I could be a writer."

A distinguished producer called Kenith Trodd actually lived in his office for over a year - the cleaners refused to go in because it was such a tip.