Every time you start a new job, you're starting from the beginning again and it's terrifying. And you feel like you're going to be fired and told to go home and never to darken the doors of these people ever again.

I was determined not to become an American citizen but I did it for completely cynical reasons: to avoid paying inheritance tax in the U.S.

Accents are very tangible, blessedly, and if you have to do one, it's a way of getting into character. I can read it through a few times and pretend I know what I'm doing!

It is brilliant going to the theatre and being forced to sit and listen and think about life. It can be almost a near-religious experience.

I have to say that, though it sounds so superficial, the accent really does help. I like having accents preparing for a part.

I had friends at school, but I was never part of a gang and I dreamed of that sense of belonging to a group. You know, where people would call me 'Em' and shout across the bar, 'Em, what are you drinking?' after the show.

There's a whole world of bad TV that's along similar themes - the cop drama.