Caroline Quentin

“I've always refused to buy into the idea that I should look a certain way. People say I don't conform to the idea of what an actress should look like, but I am what I am and that's fine.”

“The 'everymum' persona is quite a comfortable coat to put on, and in a way it protects you. I don't think I'm being deceptive. I like the women I play, so I'm very happy to be identified with them.”

“In my dream world I'd do a nice series every year, preferably one that wasn't too long. But really - I've got to be honest here - it wouldn't kill me if I never did it again.”

“I started working at 16. I'm 60. I've been working for 44 years.”

“Now I'm coming up to 50 I'm sort of bound to play people who have children. Do I mind? Not in the least. Other people's perception of you is how this industry works. It's what I do, but I have a whole real life which is nothing to do with that perception of me.”

“I'm out and proud with my terrible haircuts and jumpers. I think my younger self would be amazed at the way my life has turned out, actually.”

“But through therapy I'm realising I'm allowed to be vulnerable. And I'm allowed to feel shy. And I'm allowed to feel private.”

“I'm not clever enough to write. It's as basic and tragic as that.”

“My mother was quite poorly. She suffered from bipolar disorder, which at that time was called manic depression. She spent a lot of time in psychiatric hospitals, and my father was away a lot with the RAF and then with his job in civil aviation, so I was raised in part by my sisters and my godmother, Sylvia.”

“As a woman, you can be funny and 50, but you can't do much else - unless you're Helen Mirren!”

“Well, all baking is a technical challenge as far as I'm concerned.”

“I'm a huge fan of Tracey Emin. She's so raw and vulnerable; she's never formed the protective carapace that I formed very early on.”

“I am President of Coeliac UK, and apart from supporting Stand Up to Cancer, I want to raise awareness about coeliac disease. It's an autoimmune disease - people often think it's an allergy - and it can affect you very seriously.”

“I'm so used to my appearance, I don't feel either offended or pleased by it. To be honest, I am not madly interested.”

“I started as a hoofer and all-round chorus girl. I did my first ballet lesson when I was three, then trained as a dancer and went into pantomimes and summer seasons. Acting came later.”

“My parents got divorced in the mid-70s and I didn't really have much to do with my dad after that. Or indeed much to do with him before that, to be honest.”

“I've worn costumes all my life. I'm a theatre actress, you know. That's what I do for a living. I dress up, I wear makeup, I make a fool of myself.”