“The first role I played was Madame Ranevsky in 'The Cherry Orchard.'”
                    
                 
                
                
                                            
                                        
                    “The first time I ever got up on a stage, I did a comedy poem. I don't know how I got there in the first place because I was very, very shy.”
                    
                 
                
                
                                            
                                        
                    “Visiting a show that's already established can be a bit daunting, as they've been a family already, and you're the newbie.”
                    
                 
                
                
                                            
                                        
                    “When you look back, I think things are as they are meant to be. Timing is very important.”
                    
                 
                
                
                                        
                    “For many years, I picked the wrong men, or they picked me. I think if you don't feel attractive or worth something as a woman, you attract men who don't really look after you. That's what happened to me, but I realise that those relationships were like a journey, helping me to learn something about myself.”
                    
                 
                
                
                                            
                                        
                    “For years, I've felt that there's an inner cook in me just waiting to be unleashed. But I have to confess I'm having an awful lot of trouble finding her in real life.”
                    
                 
                
                
                                        
                    “I have been invited to do something called 'Celebrity MasterChef' in England, which, of course, I can't do. It's complete nonsense. You have to be a decent cook to begin with. I'd be the joke one.”
                    
                 
                
                
                                        
                    “I inherited my weight problem from my mum. She was always on diets. If there was a box of chocolates in the house, she'd eat half a chocolate, then put the other half back. She loved me, but she did encourage me to diet in my teens.”
                    
                 
                
                
                                            
                                        
                    “I know it sounds funny, but every time I have a disaster in the kitchen, it knocks my confidence level a little bit more, and I feel annoyed with myself that I can't do better.”
                    
                 
                
                
                                        
                    “I never imagined I'd go into acting, but I always loved drama, and when I was 16, I discovered the Library Theatre up the road. So I plucked up courage and asked if I could watch rehearsals. It was like Heaven.”