My dad worked all sorts of jobs when I was growing up and finally ended up as a surveyor; my mum delivers meals to old folk around where we live. We didn't have much money when I was growing up, but I had a very happy childhood.
Silk scarves are my thing. I tie them to my handbag or thread them through belt loops or wear them in my hair. Never round my neck, though.
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 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 think the success of 'Downton' is partly because there are effectively 18 leading characters, all given equal importance, so it's enormously involving on many levels. But also, it's a new story. It's not like Dickens or Austen, where everyone knows the denouement.
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.
'Othello' was my first Shakespearean discovery. I was obsessed with drama at school, and I studied the play for my English GCSE. Desdemona is the part that everyone wants, but Iago's wife Emilia is the one I've always been drawn to.
Shakespeare's work is like a good song: you never really forget the main lines.
I get so excited about reading a new script.
I can be so blown away by story lines.
In the early '20s, with the war over, there was a period of celebration, and you can see it in the fashion.
'Downton Abbey' has become this huge thing, and I really enjoy the success of it, but I sometimes find myself on the outside looking in, which is sort of a healthy way to look at it so you don't get too caught up in it.
I've had moments of thinking maybe I should go on Twitter. It's something that I've been shy about, and I've thought that maybe I should do it.
Laugh at yourself - a lot. My mum taught me not to take myself too seriously.
For years, I was often afraid to speak up when I didn't fully understand a script. I'd tie myself in knots.
My mum taught me always to see the funny side of things.
I love discovering tiny streets.
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.
In my twenties, I was a bit of a worrier; it bothered me what people thought of me, what job I was doing.
I worked out; I moved 16 times from the age of 19, just hopping about from different flats, because I couldn't always afford to stay.
