I do still get the odd fan letter about The Good Life, clearly written by somebody aged 18, who says: Will you send a photograph? And I think: Maybe it's kinder not to. I'm deeply into my 50s now.

There is one sure way of telling when politicians aren't telling the truth - their lips move.

Every woman feels she is too old and has missed the boat.

As we have more women in power, so the plays and the TV dramas are reflecting what's happening.

When I was little I always thought I was marked out, special, on the verge of something momentous. I used to tingle with anticipation.

I don't think, until you've actually lost somebody you really love, that you can go through that door that allows you to be grown-up.

For me, compatibility is a sense of humour, being able to laugh together; that is very important.

The gym is where I get my chill-out time. I try to go six days a week, but when I'm working, that goes down to about three.

I think you have to relax about aging. What else can you do?

I did try fillers once. Don't ever have fillers because when your cheekbones are high, it's chipmunk time.

So many roles for women demand that you make the audience fall in love with you or sympathise with you.

If only you could fully grasp how valuable, how limited and how unique every moment of your life is, you would never stand as still as a statue even a single moment because action is real living!

For an instant I saw before me the young girl this used to be.

He had the red serviette tucked into his t-shirt at the neck which made me laugh. He hadn’t done this since our third date when I had told him off for his bad manners.

I'm an activist. I'm a proud activist. So I want to be someone who is pro-black and pro-Africa and still be somebody that has positive influence.

Whenever my mother talks to me, she begins the conversation as if we were already in the middle of an argument.

Information is power. If you have information about the whole planet you have power over the whole planet. By knowing what people do in Germany they, of course, have power over them.

Everything I was I carry with me, everything I will belies waiting on the road ahead.

We've got a responsibility to live up to the legacy of those who came before us by doing all that we can to help those who come after us.

I'm a big people-watcher. I love it. But I feel bad about it, because I always get caught!

I've never hit a woman in my life. Not even my own mother.