Working at BBC, at the head of one of the top dramas, is a tradition for great actors.

I wasn't bad at school, but I was never a bookworm.

I want to go to Sierra Leone with something - whether it's some sort of contribution to healthcare, or to the entertainment industry. My cousin is a nurse; we are talking about opening a clinic.

The English are good at bad guys - the James Bond-style villain, cunning, slow-burning. The Americans are much more obvious about it.

Are there differences between black actors’ opportunities and white actors’ opportunities? Yes, there are. It’s been said.

Television is where I cut my teeth.

There's a fast-track if you can do the networking. For some personalities it works, but for mine it doesn't.