Andrew Davies

I remain, however, fairly optimistic for the future of period drama because it's just such a popular thing.

The writer in movies is about as low as you can get and you really are a hired hand. You are paid a lot of money to be treated like dirt.

You're stuck with being yourself, so the important thing is to find people who like that.

I would love it if anyone gave me the job of adapting 'The Great Gatsby,' but nobody ever does.

Affinity' is beautiful and intense, with no laughs. It's a rather delicate and emotional love story, with a spooky element.

Most actors hate readthroughs - they're exposing themselves before they're ready to, and before they've bonded. But I love them because they give us all the first inkling of what the whole show is going to be like, how each part affects every other part, and we won't see that again until it's all edited together.

I'd love to adapt more contemporary novels. But there isn't really enough story and character to make a really satisfying serial, so they tend to be single dramas.

I prefer love scenes to be shot up close with a lot of focus on eyes and mouths. Otherwise it can feel uncomfortable and voyeuristic.

I always do like to write love stories, even if they end tragically.

Rebecca Eaton has made an enormous contribution to the cultural life of America, and, more than that, she is one of the most fun people I know.

Taking the humour out of Dickens, it's not Dickens any more.

The most moving scene for me in 'Pride and Prejudice' is the Pemberley music room scene: Elizabeth has just saved Darcy's sister from embarrassment and confusion, and as the music plays on, Darcy's look of gratitude becomes a look of love, which we see reciprocated in Elizabeth's eyes.