The first posh meal out I had was on my 10th birthday.

It's great having time to just sit back and work through things in my mind. It helps put life into perspective.

I've always fancied being a bit of warrior, on a horse swinging a sword around, sorting out the men... Oh yes, that sounds lovely.

You want to go to your deathbed saying, 'I didn't sell out.' But it's a tough business to keep to what you believe in and get through and do well.

Nobody's impressed back home. All my friends were going, 'Oh right, so you're doing a play up in Leeds? Another depressing one is it? Do you mind if we don't bother coming?' I love that.

I think with 'Silk' there's something there for everyone: it's a legal drama, but it's human as well - you get to dip into the lives of the barristers and clerks.

You don't want to bash viewers over the head with a blunt message or lecture them - they'd soon get bored with that.

When I graduated, I was my biggest ever: 15 stone, with a boyfriend - my first - of just 11 stone. I was 23 years old. It wasn't just affecting my career: it was a health issue as well.

At drama school, I was told, 'Lay off the chips, or you'll never play Juliet.' Sometimes, in the stock room of the set of 'Dinnerladies,' I'd put away three or four Mars bars while waiting for a scene. Then, at 24, I lost five stone.

I've always had pop-star crushes. I had a huge crush on Ian Brown.

I don't have massive ambitions to be anywhere other than in this country doing good work.

I didn't have my first serious boyfriend until I was 23. Then after that, I went out with a guy I'd been best friends with all through drama school.

Male? Female? It's not always relevant to some people. They are who they are - they might not fit into a specific box.

I went to Salford Tech. They did a two-year performing arts course. I went there singing and dancing - I had a terrible time. I turned up in green dungarees and German power boots. I was into prog rock at the time - Gong and Hawkwind - and I was clumping around.

I joined the Communist Party when I was 18. When I was 10, there was the miners' strike, and the Cold War was going on; it was quite a potent time to get involved in politics. I got involved through my grandfather, who was a member.

The 'Bolton News' is the best place for online comments. They say I'm an absolute idiot and a communist anarchist. I was never an anarchist; I was a communist!

I'm inspired by films from the early '50s, especially Jean Simmons in 'The Clouded Yellow' - and by vintage swing, psychobilly gigs, sea shanties, and English folklore.

I reckoned my accent and class would count against me; I didn't see actresses as being working-class.

It's interesting when people say, 'You always play strong women,' because as far as I'm concerned, women are strong. I think that's what women are. We have got that vulnerability, but we have got that strength. We are survivors.

Every job still feels like the first time.

I'm very independent, probably quite selfish, and like being able to disappear at the drop of a hat without having to explain myself - most men would find that a pain, wouldn't they?

I love 'Splash!' and 'Take Me Out.' Not that I'd ever do 'Splash!' It's the parading on British TV in a swimming costume I couldn't handle.

'Toast of London' is a must-watch. Matt Berry's off-the-wall humour is slightly surreal and a little bit deviant. That's why I also love 'House of Fools.'

What is male and what is female? I don't always feel female.

They always said to me that I needed to be more feminine. I think it's so wrong. Being boisterous doesn't mean you are not feminine.

When I was growing up, because I was a bit overweight and boyish, I thought I wasn't attractive to the opposite sex, but I have since met lads from my school who said I just seemed unapproachable.

Often, when I am playing difficult roles, I have a problem sleeping because I can't leave the character behind.

I used to think the store detective had followed me all the way home and would knock on the door and go, 'Hello, is this your daughter? She's got three blue lipsticks and a moisturiser from Boots in her bag.' We just used to nick crap. Not even stuff we wanted.

I care about my work, but I don't care about getting it wrong. The more you do, the more you realise nobody's going to die.

People think I'm clever, which is hilarious. I'm like, 'When did this happen? People used to think I couldn't string a sentence together.'

Sometimes the darker the work, the more fun you can have.

I take bits and pieces from everything. But I think the Method can be very isolating, and sometimes it's more about ego than playing the character truthfully.

I think an actor's process should be very personal and private, and sometimes I have thought, 'Oh, please, put it away now.'

I love hoovering. People go to therapists; I've got a Hoover.

Cooking, you can keep. I've not the slightest interest in it.

I think all things are political... How women are portrayed - that's a big thing for me. What is this role trying to say about women? Is this woman weak or victimised, and, if so, do we get to understand why?

Everybody's in a situation; everybody has a story. It's about finding out why.

For me, I'm still always that kid from Bolton.

When I'm not acting, I don't feel like an actor.

I find these dramas fascinating - it's a world that many of us fortunately don't dip into. The legal system is all around us, but the majority of us don't have to go into a court, so it's a way into another world that is unusual.

Food is important in working out a character. How she eats is a window into her temperament. If I think she likes her food, I'll put on a few pounds, or lose a few if she lives on her nerves.

As a human, if you're in a scary situation, you pretty much forget about everything else! You just try and survive.

I don't really engage with that world of technology, which might be to my detriment.

We need a wider sense of community because we're all on the same planet.

When I was a little girl, there was this unbelievably cool female bus driver who'd work near us. I remember thinking I'd like to be her when I grew up.

When I'm going to work, I often stop and wonder how I've got here. I don't mean literally, but just thinking back to when I first had the idea of being an actress, it seemed so unreal, so unlikely. People like me just didn't become actresses. Every new job I get comes as shock. It's almost as if I'm waiting to be found out.

I'm a big comfort eater, so if I'm feeling sorry for myself, I'll just stuff my face.

The women I play don't sit in the corner eating lettuce leaves and talking about what designer shoes they have.

If I were to appear in a programme like 'Sex and the City,' I'm sure I'd be cast as the downtrodden one staying at home and having seven children while the others jet-setted around the world.

People will always respond to high-class drama.