Cooking can cure almost anything.

If Shakespeare was around today I would ask him out to dinner. The only thing I don't like about him is the way he did his hair.

I think some period drama can be quite alienating, but 'Downton' isn't. This is going to sound quite, um, pretentious, but someone said that it's like a soap written by a poet.

I come from a very working-class background, so my family would have been downstairs in the past, as opposed to upstairs. People are often quite surprised to hear that, that I'm not actually posh.

I think the first time I realised Downton Abbey was a hit was when I was sitting in a tea shop in New York and the couple next to me were talking about Downton Abbey, and then they recognised me.

I had dance training from a very young age, 3 or 4... It taught me how to present myself, about preparation and working in an ensemble, and its something that carries with me to this day.

I don't get recognized all the time, but it tends to happen more in America, and people are so lovely when they do.

I love discovering tiny streets.

I don't mind wearing a corset; it informs your posture, changes the way you move, you can't slouch.

I love cycling, but if I could find a way of building something above the streets for cyclists, that would be amazing. We need even more space.

I get so excited about reading a new script.

Are not my days few? Cease then and let me alone that I may take comfort a little Before I go to the place from which I shall not return.

When we sleep the soul is lit up... by many eyes, and with them, we can see everything that we cannot see in the daytime.

As much as I'm drawn to writing about teenage girls, I like the idea of having the freedom to branch out and write about different ages, for different ages.

American audiences love period pieces. America doesn't have a lot of old things. It's a new country so I think we're a little bit fascinated by that.

May your dreams be sweet and your nightmares be spooky-monster-scary and not grandma-died-scary.

With God in charge, I believe everything will work out for the best in the end.

I want to do my hard dives really well, I want to see what my true potential in this sport really is. I want to grasp that.

Art is manipulation without intervention.

I have lots of sources of information about what's going on at the company. I think I have a pretty good pulse on where we are and what people are thinking.

I've always wanted to tell a story about Lincoln. I saw a paternal father figure; I saw someone who was completely, stubbornly committed to his ideals, to his vision.