'Downton Abbey' has become this huge thing, and I really enjoy the success of it, but I sometimes find myself on the outside looking in, which is sort of a healthy way to look at it so you don't get too caught up in it.

I think the first time I realised Downton Abbey was a hit was when I was sitting in a tea shop in New York and the couple next to me were talking about Downton Abbey, and then they recognised me.

I come from a very working-class background, so my family would have been downstairs in the past, as opposed to upstairs. People are often quite surprised to hear that, that I'm not actually posh.

I had dance training from a very young age, 3 or 4... It taught me how to present myself, about preparation and working in an ensemble, and its something that carries with me to this day.

In the early '20s, with the war over, there was a period of celebration, and you can see it in the fashion.

If Shakespeare was around today I would ask him out to dinner. The only thing I don't like about him is the way he did his hair.

Othello' was my first Shakespearean discovery. I was obsessed with drama at school, and I studied the play for my English GCSE. Desdemona is the part that everyone wants, but Iago's wife Emilia is the one I've always been drawn to.