I've no desire to hang around with a bunch of upper-class delinquents, do twenty minutes' work and then spend the rest of the day loafing about in Paris drinking gallons of champagne and having dozens of moist, pink, highly experienced French peasant girls galloping up and down my - hang on.

I've read about eight or ten of the original novels, and one of them is where Maigret's in bed for the entire story! His wife is running around and solving the case!

It's a bit disconcerting being treated like Madonna.

The Maigret stories are all very different in terms of the content and the way that the stories are told. They're not what I would call formulaic.

The arts community still has a long lasting cynicism of the importance, or the artistic value, of comedy. Comedy is just farting about for money.

I don't really have plans like that [move towards more dramatic acting].

The job is interesting, and the task is difficult, but the man [Maigret] is just a decent man doing a very ordinary job.