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.

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.

Cooking can cure almost anything.

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.

Dead. Supposedly Suicide. That's how they'll kill Michael too. Make it look like a suicide or an accident of some sort.

Someone would have to be out of their mind not to come back to you. I walked through a blizzard to get here.

Our true nationality is mankind.

It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.

Every adventure requires a first step. Trite but true, even here.

What I need more in my culture and in my life right now is hope, and so I tend to write to that. I'll always end up bending more toward optimism.

The problem with Republicans and Conservatives is we attack each other.

The more afflictions you have been under, the more assistance you have had for this life of holiness.

You are the butter to my bread,and the breath to my life

Until the juice ferments a while in the cask, it isn't wine. If you wish your heart to be bright, you must do a little work.