Andrew Davies

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. ”

Plan for each episode to be a satisfying experience, but still leave the audience thinking, 'Oh, my God! Now what?' ”

Be careful about the advice you give, especially to your children. ”

The BBC fulfils a wonderful cultural function. Maybe the problem is that it feels it needs to be everything to everybody. ”

One of the things I've always thought is a drag in so many period adaptations is that they are always buttoned up to the neck in so many clothes all the time. I'm always looking for excuses to get them out of their clothes. ”

I'm absolutely delighted if people think of me as a reliable purveyor of quality period stuff. ”

From time to time there is a move to do a little less in the way of period dramas, but people rebel. Audiences say we want them. There is a big hunger for them. I don't think it's sentimentality or nostalgia, it's often that they are simply the best stories. ”

My wife likes history and documentaries, but I'm not so keen on them. I generally go and do some work if there's one of those on. ”

I had a mother who was very emotionally demanding, wanting to be the centre of attention. As they say in EastEnders, she thought it was all about 'er. I spent a lot of time trying to work out what was going on. ”