I'm in a really good place. I used to be a right worrier, but being in a settled relationship has made a massive difference. I was on my own for three years before meeting David. I'm very happy with him, he's a fantastic man. But you never know what's around the corner, so you just hope for the best.

It's so important to raise awareness of this problem that continues to affect 1 in 4 women at some point in their lifetime, regardless of career, wealth or background.

If oil exploration can threaten a place as beautiful and meaningful as Virunga, where next?

Well ironically my last three roles have all been a mother. One was a Canadian film where the baby was taken away because she is a drug addict, in Irish Jam I play a mother to a four year old. I think in the future I'll be able to handle the role with a lot more depth.

The doctors say it dates back to a film where I had these huge prosthetic breasts because my character was breast-feeding. The weight of them, and of the baby, did my back in.

Any scene that involves stripping off is hell. You just know it's going to take a day or more to get it right. It never gets any better and it's always uncomfortable, and all you can do is grin and bare it. I just pray it's never gratuitous and that it doesn't look so fake that all you hear in the audience is, 'Well, that's not really her, is it?'

And the most important thing - apart from telling a good, believable story, and being a true character - is to be someone the audience will care about, even if you're playing a murderer or rapist.