Deirdre O'Kane

Growing up, I was your classic Catholic Irish kid. I went to mass every Sunday. Then in secondary school I went to boarding school, and there was mass seven days a week before breakfast - it may have put me off! ”

Acting is very much an all-or-nothing job. ”

I kind of flew into a panic that somebody would have already owned the rights, because Christina Noble's life is such a good story. It took us two full years to get Christina to agree and sign the rights. ”

You worry about whether you are match-fit, coming back to the stand-up stage. ”

I think boarding school does give you an independence. ”

I'm a shopper but not a big money/label-y shopper. It makes me a nervous wreck. ”

I have no proper money to invest! ”

I was never very good at being an unemployed actor. I always thought that I should have been doing something pro-active. I was never good at doing juvenile leads. I suppose it's because I have this big sarcastic head on me. ”

It wasn't that I left acting; it's just that I put it aside while I set about becoming a comic. ”

I love motherhood. I certainly wasn't aware of any mothering instincts until I had babies. I wasn't a person who desperately wanted to have kids, but you don't get it until you do it, and, suddenly, this nurturing instinct exists. ”