I just could not stand the idea of eating meat - I really do think that it has made me calmer.... People's general awareness is getting much better, even down to buying a pint of milk: the fact that the calves are actually killed so that the milk doesn't go to them but to us cannot really be right, and if you have seen a cow in a state of extreme distress because it cannot understand why its calf isn't by, it can make you think a lot.

Clothes are such a strong part of who a human being is.

Music is like comedy in that you can enjoy a very - for want of abetter word - sophisticated classical piece as much as you enjoy something that's very simple pop.

I didn't dare let my mind wander off.

If ever there's been somebody to hold as an icon of sheer determination and willpower, it's that guy [Stephen Hawking ], let alone any of the things he's done scientifically. I'm sure that's his driving force, but he's a miracle and an aspiration.

I had friends but I was spending a great deal of my time alone and for me that was vital because there's an awful lot you learn about yourself when you're alone.

Being nervous actually kept me very tense.