Most actors hate readthroughs - they're exposing themselves before they're ready to, and before they've bonded. But I love them because they give us all the first inkling of what the whole show is going to be like, how each part affects every other part, and we won't see that again until it's all edited together.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

Plan for each episode to be a satisfying experience, but still leave the audience thinking, 'Oh, my God! Now what?