People like bonnets. I don't think you can under-estimate that.

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

The joy of writing drama is putting yourself into different people's heads.

From time to time there is a move to do a little less in the way of period dramas, but people rebel. Audiences say we want them. There is a big hunger for them. I don't think it's sentimentality or nostalgia, it's often that they are simply the best stories.

People like bonnets. I don't think you can under-estimate that.

I'm glad nobody has asked me to adapt 'Wuthering Heights' because I think I would make a mess of it. Everybody makes a mess of it. I think the Bronte Sisters are mad.

Othello' is the most domestic of Shakespeare's tragedies and the one that's likely to strike a personal note with a lot of people watching it.