I was really attracted to doing 'Game of Thrones' because I thought the character of Meera was absolutely amazing.

I was really attracted to doing Game of Thrones because I thought the character of Meera was absolutely amazing.

Everyone loves a slice of period-drama-pie, but I think the success of Upstairs Downstairs is really down to the wonderful format that Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins created.

My parents are big Shakespeare fans.

There's no point starting something you don't intend to finish.

Through everything I have passed but nowhere I have been.

I adore my dad. He's a 78-year-old man and my inspiration.

Out of association grows adhesion, and out of adhesion amalgamation.

The Spiral Gallery may happen, too. It is not dependent on government funding.

I read Michael Caine's biography. It was about him growing up

Once you understand what excellence is all about... you see how that excellence manifests itself in any discipline.

I'm doing naughty things, I'm drinking too much, I'm going to clubs. It really didn't matter to me, other than the fact that some parents wouldn't let their kids hang out with me.

The prevalence of mental illness compels me to give it - and the people suffering from it - a voice.

It's because you're like that that you're still a virgin, you know.

It is always wiser, where there is a choice, to trust inertia. It is the greatest force in the world.