I always do like to write love stories, even if they end tragically.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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