In Britain, the press want to kill a show by revealing what's coming up and spoiling the pleasure.

Am I athletic? In my dreams.

When you are in the eye of the storm, you are often not aware of the whiplash around you.

After World War II, the major estates really did collapse.

Everyone at some point in their lives feels excluded and misunderstood.

It's never happened to me before, in my career, and never will again. It's a one-off experience. It's a rare treat to have a cast together for six years. Crews come and go, and a few of them have been there throughout, but not many. It's rare, in my experience, after 26 years, to have had a proper company in a show that enjoys each other's company, and who is such a fine bunch of people and actors. To have struck a chord with people, and to have had that combination, is extremely rare.

At home I have a Tibetan terrier. I'm still not sure if he's a genius or very thick. It's a fine line.