When I left school, I got a job in a shoe shop and I used to save 15 quid a week and pay for my own singing and acting lessons.

You've got to be in the moment and respond to what you're feeling. I try to simplify it as much as possible.

You can over complicate everything with techniques; when you're in the moment, you have to feel that you are that character, that you're feeling the pain or the happiness or whatever it is that they're feeling in that moment. Usually the authenticity will manifest itself.

I'm very, very close to my mum and dad. My mum is only nineteen years older than me, so she could be my older sister, which is really nice.

I'm not saying every musical theater actor can do film or television, but a lot of them can. A lot of them are brilliant actors who absolutely don't need to sing to prove their ability and don't get the opportunity.

I've always been quite good at watching someone do something and then picking it up, so I turned that talent to watching people on the film set, and just saw how small everything was and how intimate the scenes could be.

And I love to cook! I've impressed hundreds of women with my cooking. And they always come back for more.