Andrew Davies

“Look at Jane Austen. Her characters derive in a reasonably straight line from fairy tales.”

“I always do like to write love stories, even if they end tragically.”

“When you see two writers named on a movie, one of them did some drafts and got the boot.”

“I remain, however, fairly optimistic for the future of period drama because it's just such a popular thing.”

“I used to have this Mercedes, a dark blue 450SLC, which was the most beautiful car. I'd like to have another unusual, beautiful car.”

“I got quite cross when I heard about Emma Thompson adapting 'Sense and Sensibility.' It was absolutely childish of me, but I thought, 'I should be doing that. They didn't even ask me.' Some mistake, surely.”

“Rebecca Eaton has made an enormous contribution to the cultural life of America, and, more than that, she is one of the most fun people I know.”

“I prefer love scenes to be shot up close with a lot of focus on eyes and mouths. Otherwise it can feel uncomfortable and voyeuristic.”

“I adore doing classic adaptations, but I also feel their frustrations and their limitations.”

“The BBC fulfils a wonderful cultural function. Maybe the problem is that it feels it needs to be everything to everybody.”

“Taking the humour out of Dickens, it's not Dickens any more.”

“From time to time there is a move to do a little less in the way of period dramas, but people rebel. Audiences say we want them. There is a big hunger for them. I don't think it's sentimentality or nostalgia, it's often that they are simply the best stories.”

“The most moving scene for me in 'Pride and Prejudice' is the Pemberley music room scene: Elizabeth has just saved Darcy's sister from embarrassment and confusion, and as the music plays on, Darcy's look of gratitude becomes a look of love, which we see reciprocated in Elizabeth's eyes.”

“I had a mother who was very emotionally demanding, wanting to be the centre of attention. As they say in EastEnders, she thought it was all about 'er. I spent a lot of time trying to work out what was going on.”

“I would love it if anyone gave me the job of adapting 'The Great Gatsby,' but nobody ever does.”

“Most actors hate readthroughs - they're exposing themselves before they're ready to, and before they've bonded. But I love them because they give us all the first inkling of what the whole show is going to be like, how each part affects every other part, and we won't see that again until it's all edited together.”

“People like bonnets. I don't think you can under-estimate that.”

“I'm absolutely delighted if people think of me as a reliable purveyor of quality period stuff.”

“My wife likes history and documentaries, but I'm not so keen on them. I generally go and do some work if there's one of those on.”

“'Othello' is the most domestic of Shakespeare's tragedies and the one that's likely to strike a personal note with a lot of people watching it.”