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.

I think that's important to women in comedy, that we get a lot of the good lines and you're not just the girlfriend or the sister.

Things change when you get to 40. I'm embarrassed even that I'm going through it. In a very morbid way, at 40 you become aware of how long you've been on Earth and you start to question what you're going to use the remaining time doing.

I was the kid who liked making other people laugh, so maybe the comedy came before the acting.

It kind of depresses me when people decide to move away. I get it, you want your kids to have somewhere to roam free or to recreate whatever your sort of childhood ideal was, but my kids are grand. I love LA because lifestyle wise, it's near the beach and mountains and it is great for kids but then it's a city built on an industry that, at the end of the day, is kind of facile.

I think the best comedy is tragicomic. Yeah, I suppose if you were to look at everything I've done, there is a bit of a black streak through all of it. It's not deliberate: it's what makes me laugh, and there's a fine tradition of it, especially in Ireland.

I've never for a second felt like my job has been more of a struggle because I'm a woman.