Politics is not a game for naive thinkers. You may go in as an idealist, but you certainly won't come out as one.

Its really good to have so distinctive a name as an actress. No one ever forgets it. My sister and brother are called Perdita and Rollo. Actually, my family calls me Hollyhocks.

Size zero doesn't make you happy and I'm not sure I have the discipline for Hollywood. I'm too much of a fan of chocolate and crisps.

My parents wondered what to do with this insufferable show-off. They chose acting for me and I'm very grateful I can still make a living from it.

My father was a tyrant about reading, and that put me off books when I was little.

When 'Foyle's War' ended in 2010 after seven series, I was sad but not despondent. After all, ITV had already axed the show once in 2007, then brought it back due to public demand.

A person’s true nature, true self, cannot change with situations.It is totally consistent.

Never fall for a man whose chief antagonist is himself, whose chief conversational partner is the man in the mirror when he shaves.

Happiness is not just a smile on the face but a joy from within.

Freedom begs responsibility

Daffy-down-dilly came up in the cold, Through the brown mould Although the March breeze blew keen on her face, Although the white snow lay in many a place.

A good Christian is a velvet-covered brick.

I think laughter comes because things are hardly working.

The purpose of the environmental movement is to establish control over the people.

A society is only as free as its most oppressed and afflicted members.

They say the sky is the same everywhere. Travellers, the shipwrecked, exiles, and the dying draw comfort from the thought.