I always write back to people who are kind enough to write to me. Actually, I don't write - I recline on my red velvet sofa with my feet on the coffee table and dictate the letters to my eldest son.

I always wanted to be Jo in 'Little Women.' She's a bit reckless and feckless, always getting into trouble like me. But I'm probably more like Madame Bovary.

When all my kids were at home, I used to write from midnight onwards.

In the playground, I always made people laugh; I used to charge them three pence for an impression of a teacher. It kept me in toffees.