At the beginning of my acting career, I worked for two seasons at the RSC and spent a lot of time in the Cotswolds exploring Shakespeare's countryside. It's my kind of English landscape, with its tiny villages and one-room thatched pubs.

There's something about 'Strictly Come Dancing.' Everywhere I go, people wish me good luck; cabbies toot their horns. It's lovely. I have a theory: in straitened times, there's nothing like a bit of unapologetic escapism.

My mum - and my granny and I - would close the curtains, turn on the TV and snuggle up and watch 'Come Dancing.' It was actually my granny who was the biggest fan; she loved the show, and she passed on her passion for it to me. I loved the dancing but also the frocks and the glamour.

Sadly, the timing's never been right. There have been men who would have married me but I didn't feel the same, and vice versa.

With age comes a greater wisdom, an ease and comfort with oneself.

I have done so many love scenes in the past that I have learned how to pull off a sexy smoulder on the dance floor.

I'd like to break some new ground, maybe in TV presenting, rather than just be an actress.