It's one of the oldest theatrical adages: never work with children or animals.

My nickname is Bondy. But not because of the Bond films - it was my surname a long time before I did those.

Not a lot of people know this, but I'm very good at mathematics. When I was an angry teenager, I used to sit in my room and do quadratic equations to calm myself down.

I had absolutely no idea of the scale of its following and the globalness of 'Bond'.

If I pop off and do something drastic, everyone's going to realise because they know I'm 50. Anyway, middle-aged women are sensational.

My best friend is my husband.

I grew up without the rose-tinted look at the profession many of my friends had, but I've been very lucky playing major roles in 'An Ideal Husband', 'Arcadia' and 'The Memory of Water'.