There is the most wonderful thing called Polaris: it's a very high frequency laser treatment that lifts and tightens the skin.

When I was little I always thought I was marked out, special, on the verge of something momentous. I used to tingle with anticipation.

I don't think, until you've actually lost somebody you really love, that you can go through that door that allows you to be grown-up.

It was in India that I started my acting career, courtesy of my parents, long before I set foot on stage in England. They headed a company of travelling players performing Shakespeare up and down the land.

I don't treasure things much - just people. And pets.

The girl-next-door image is a sort of joke; for years, I couldnt get any roles other than as somebody dark.

I do still get the odd fan letter about The Good Life, clearly written by somebody aged 18, who says: Will you send a photograph? And I think: Maybe it's kinder not to. I'm deeply into my 50s now.