Everything with me is pretty close to the surface, but having kids has completely ruined my emotional equilibrium.

In fact I was slightly badly behaved at school and got in trouble. I would get a bee in my bonnet about something I thought wasn't right, and I would ape about too, to make everybody laugh. That was my way through my girls' school, because I wasn't very academic.

I feel fortunate that I'm not a beauty. I'm not a classic beauty. I feel it is harder for girls who are like that. There are fewer parts.

I always assumed I would leave drama school and do 'Lady Macbeth' and all sorts of serious things. It just didn't happen.

Everything with me is pretty close to the surface, but having kids has completely ruined my emotional equilibrium.

If I didn't have children I might be more of a lush than I am. I like booze. I struggle with smoking. And I'm a big swearer. I'm trying to rein it in but I do think it's a nice seasoning of language.

This may sound mad, but you sort of assume that no one's going to watch what you do. You go on set, have a lovely time, and then you forget anyone's going to see it. So it's always a bit of a shock to be recognized. I get terribly embarrassed.