Jane Fallon

“Thirty is still the iconic number. It's when people compare their actual lives with what they think they should have achieved.”

“You just don't come across proper, deep, loyal friendships very easily later on in life.”

“I like being on my own. I'm very happy in my own company.”

“As an adult, I had to accept that I was not a natural distance runner. Anything more than about 400 metres had me gasping and wheezing like a broken accordion.”

“Luckily my own life is uncomplicated, which lets me really enjoy other people's complicated messes!”

“I tend to make snap judgements about people.”

“I've never regretted not having kids.”

“I'm not a gossip. The worst thing anyone can say to me is, 'Ooh, I've got some gossip.' I'm like, 'Oh, shut up.'”

“If I die, I know the news item would be, 'Partner of Ricky Gervais and novelist dies.' That would come first. But I've come to terms with it. As long as they do still add the 'and novelist,' that will be fine.”

“When I left university with a history degree, I had no idea what I wanted to do, and I was terrified of accidentally ending up in the wrong career.”

“Whenever I'm out, I have a bit of a yearning to be in my house, to be able to shut the door on the world.”

“If someone tells me something and asks me to keep it a secret, I always do.”

“I was never one of those little girls who played with baby dolls and picked names for her firstborn. I was playing in the mud with my dog, doing backflips, and climbing trees.”

“In the winter, my failsafe dinner party menu has to be my roast chicken or a creamy fish pie with mashed potatoes on top, followed by something like a tarte tatin. My cooking style is quite homely.”

“My biggest source of inspiration is listening to people's conversations. I'm a big eavesdropper.”

“I started out working as a script editor and storyliner.”

“I'm not a girly girl at all.”