I'm a sheep when it comes to opinions; I will change my mind and jump on the bandwagon.

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.

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.

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 despise shows that present friendship where you're always there for each other and really strong because I don't know anyone like that. I mean, I've got great friends, but I can go months without seeing them because I think, 'I just can't deal with having to give you anything.

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 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.