I'm lucky because I have never been pigeonholed and the roles have kept on coming.

I don't colour my hair, and I look like the back end of a bus, so I get asked to play old people.

I think it is very natural to want to be partnered, but you never know. you read about mature love affairs in the press, and it gives you hope. You think: 'Well, it's not impossible.'

All the Shakespeare parts are for young women, mostly.

And in the middle of one of those scenes, I suddenly felt my heart just open: it was overwhelming, to the point where I got teary-eyed. Never would I have thought anything like that could happen in a love scene.

On a personal note: I have contracted an outstanding case of breast cancer, from which I intend to recover. I don't need get-well cards, but I would like the beloved women readers to do something for me: Go. Get. The. Damn. Mammogram. Done.

In this day and age, I ask anyone I date right away: 'Are you married? Are you in a relationship with anyone? Does anyone think they're in a relationship with you?' And by the way, if someone says, 'Yes, I am dating other people,' that's not necessarily a deal breaker. But you have to communicate it, not hide it.

When I start to write, words have become physical presence. It was to see if I could bring that private world to life that found its first expression through reading. I really dislike the romantic notion of the artist.