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.

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.

I remain, however, fairly optimistic for the future of period drama because it's just such a popular thing.

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."

I would love it if anyone gave me the job of adapting 'The Great Gatsby,' but nobody ever does.

I know that a ridiculous number of classic serials have been commissioned, and that reviews show a reaction against them. The critics seem fed up.

Look at Jane Austen. Her characters derive in a reasonably straight line from fairy tales.