Neve McIntosh

“I do worry because it takes all types to make our culture, to make our art. We need it to be available to all.”

“I love being in London, where I live, for the shops, the bars and the clubs - but I equally enjoy going to my mum's house in Ayrshire and being able to sit on a cliff by the sea.”

“My first-night jitters are so bad, I can't even hold a tea cup, but once I am over that, I get really into it.”

“Some people have a persona that they bring, and I can't do that. It's just me that you get, I'm afraid.”

“In Edinburgh, there was a lovely little Episcopalian Church of Scotland church on my way to the theater, so I used to pop in there and soak up the atmosphere.”

“I haven't done any 'Fringe' shows since I was about 17. Then I performed with my youth theatre in a show where we all had this old-fashioned make-up on and giggled through our lines.”

“I tend to do yoga before I go on stage, so that keeps me nice and calm.”

“I started horse-riding when I was a child and still try to go as often as I can.”

“Conflict is always more interesting to play. Not everyone gets along in the trauma unit. In a hard-pressed job like this, there will always be friction.”

“In the Church of Scotland, Episcopalian, you don't have to believe in Heaven, but you definitely have to believe in Hell.”

“Fashion isn't something I madly follow. I tend just to wear what I like and what fits me well.”

“You go for an audition, and you meet a director, and you find that they don't want you. You have to have a pull with them: that they understand what you want to bring to it. That you don't want to be the pretty little thing.”

“I love playing 'Madame Vastra.' Although I do suffer, spending three-and-a-half hours in make-up every morning to have her lizard skin put on. I was so excited the first day when we did the make-up test, but after six hours, I was like, 'Can we finish now?'”

“I really admire medical people. They have a great sense of humour, and they just have to get on with it.”

“I am such a tomboy. I grew up fighting with boys, mainly - beating up boys, actually.”

“It's hard to get the downtrodden working-class wifey sometimes because 'You don't look like it'. Well, that's weird because I grew up on a scheme in Paisley. But everyone's got a viewpoint about what you should look like, and it's tainted by prejudices and assumptions.”

“Audiences are a wee bit more chatty in New York than in London.”

“Women are never the protagonists; we're always reactionary against everything that's done to us. I like people who write for women that have got a bit more about them.”

“I've been a 'Doctor Who' fan since I was a wee girl.”

“Thankfully, I have never experienced a miscarriage, but I have friends and family who have, and I've talked to them about their feelings.”