I went through bits of the 60s and thought myself a bit of a hippy.

I felt my mother about the place. I don't think she haunts me, but I wouldn't put it past her.

There were all us baby boomers who had a grammar school education, started to learn, then went on the pill, the whole thing, and so there are today a lot more women writers, editors, producers, and so a lot more women's stories. God, the BBC's practically run by women.

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.

There were people asking 'Can women be funny?' People still ask that. It's like asking: 'Can women breathe in and out?'

Sixty felt like a big landmark. Not in a dreadful sense, but none of the other birthdays have bothered me. It's got labels on it - OAP, retirement - and I just wanted to take stock. I wanted to be in my greenhouse at home and at least give myself the opportunity of not working again.

I think comedy's something you can't learn. It's an instinct, which makes it rather elusive.