Comedy and drama are less ageist media for women than stuff like light entertainment. But in TV or film, women have to be more pleasing on the eye than men.

I'll cry anywhere because I can do it quite subtly. Walking, that's a good time to have a cry.

At 27 or so I thought, you know, I actually do really want to make money and have a proper life, and I don't want to be a loser. I know! I'll go to university and get a proper degree and maybe get a job in media... I went and did an English degree.

Stresses in a marriage and in family life, sometimes they're prompted by whatever is going on in the wider world as well as what's going on behind your door.

I started writing sketches with Dennis Kelly, who I ended up writing 'Pulling' with. We entered a BBC competition and did quite well, then started writing bits for other people's shows. You wheedle your way in, write pilots and eventually you end up writing a sitcom.

Any big televised event that starts at the crack of dawn is worth getting up for. I've done it all my life: big boxing matches, royal weddings, even TV-A.M.'s inaugural episode was enjoyed in pyjamas in my house.

Hackney gets a bit of a bad rap, but it's the only place I've ever lived that felt like a community. I know my neighbours.