My mother was a terrific force in my life. Wartime-generation woman, hadn't gone to university but should have done. Was very funny, very verbal, very clever, very witty.

I've got a very peculiar sort of fame, based on being on the telly. It doesn't mean you have the lifestyle people expect.

The best comedy is where you attack the strong, not the weak.

I like making films about old people because they are repositories of amazing stories that they tell well. And they're incredibly good telly.

You end up with this succession of periods when everything was marvellous - from King Arthur to the medieval times, Ivanhoe, chivalry, Henry VIII, Merry England, the Blitz

I've seen the Pokémon movie, which is probably the worst movie ever made on any subject ever.

I get paid to do what I enjoy, not that common a condition.