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

I always, always want to make people laugh. In every situation. Even when it's inappropriate.

There are lots of actors, and you need a way to stand out. Writing comedy sketches was a way of doing that.

You feel you can pretend to be young until you're 50, but after that, what happens and how do you approach it?

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 never felt like I had to rebel against my convent upbringing, because it was comparatively regular.

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.