An adaptation I was working on of Trollope's 'The Pallisers' has been axed by the BBC... I was also going to do Dickens' 'Dombey and Son' but they've asked me to do 'David Copperfield' instead.

Be careful about the advice you give, especially to your children.

I suppose I have the tastes of someone who teaches at a university in the provinces.

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.

The most moving scene for me in 'Pride and Prejudice' is the Pemberley music room scene: Elizabeth has just saved Darcy's sister from embarrassment and confusion, and as the music plays on, Darcy's look of gratitude becomes a look of love, which we see reciprocated in Elizabeth's eyes.

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.

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