I was having my teens in my 30s.

That's why I'm an actress - escaping into a world.

When I think of the future, I think of doing my washing so I've something to wear tomorrow.

My mother was born on a tiny farm in County Mayo. She was meant to stay at home and look after the farm while her brother and sister got an education. However, she came to England on a visit and never went back.

I'm interested in politics, what's going on in the world, how people behave and how your life is often in the hands of other people.

I didn't come into the business to get awards or titles.

I do find it therapeutic, writing about stuff that was frightening and painful as a child, and managing to see it from an adult's point of view. To get it out of the closet onto paper, metaphorically speaking, is therapeutic.