You have no idea what's going to happen [in Downton Abbey] until you get the script. We roughly knew a couple of the key points that were going to happen, but when I got the last episode, I turned to the last page to check that I was still alive.

At 19, you know everything; by the time you're 40, you haven't got a clue.

Homosexuality has been around since humanity began and different societies at different times have reacted in a different manner.

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

A typical Christmas is me shucking oysters. I love them and I always get them in at Christmas.

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

We were all expecting to finish [Downton Abbey] after Series 1, actually. And then, it got extended to Series 3, and that's when two of our much loved and much missed friends left. And then, it was going to be done with Series 5, but Julian Fellowes said, "I'd like to do one more." So it's been a series of extensions, rather than wondering how much longer we can go on for.