Sara Pascoe

“The only reason you would hate to be compared to 'Fleabag' is if you were said to be 'not as good as Fleabag'.”

“I've been an actor since I was 18. So that's my proper job. But I was not a very successful actor, if you consider being able to afford your rent successful. I did lots of old people's tours; reminiscence tours.”

“As an adult, my hero is my dog, Mouse. He is so friendly to everyone he meets. He wags his tail and loves everyone, like Jesus!”

“Belief is invisible, so there is enough space for everyone's. Except in the shops at Christmas.”

“Orange Is the New Black' is the womanliest TV show that has ever existed. It doesn't merely pass the Bechdel test, it gets all As and goes straight to Oxbridge, even though it's only three years old.”

“No success will ever quench your thirst - my rich person's therapist told me that.”

“When I was a child, I had an intense fear of going to prison. I wasn't on the run or anything - my crimes were small and they were all against fashion. But I had nightmares about accidentally killing someone, or being falsely accused.”

“We don't live in a world where, if you commit a crime, your life's over. We as a society believe in rehabilitation. We believe in second and third chances.”

“I wore a padded bra every single day and night from the age of 14 until I was 31. Giving up padding was my New Year's resolution. I had known for ages that wearing a stuffed bra was a form of hiding my real body.”

“I want my funeral to be uncomfortably quiet.”

“I would have been an essayist in the 18th century. Maybe I'd have had one gag in the piece, but essentially I'd be saying something.”

“But, if you read science journals or the inside of Snapple caps, you might already know that watching TV is the closest you can get to being dead, which is why it's so relaxing.”

“If you view history as a backdrop, set-dressing or fiction, then 'Pride and Prejudice' is hugely entertaining. My reread saw the misery of the female characters' reality. My new reaction was sadness and fury. Knowledge ruins everything!”

“Extensive analysis was conducted before deciding whether consumers would respond better to a male or female imprisoned in their phone. Almost every country in the world had a female Siri programmed - but not, initially, in the UK and France.”

“The cliche of call-centre work is that it's mainly older people who will stay on the line to talk to you. Whether through loneliness or good manners, they tend to allow you to finish your sentences, hear you out.”

“There was a girl I was best friends with at college; I always used to kiss the boys she liked. I'd like to apologise to her.”

“So why don't all religions get together and go to war with atheists? Because we all want the same thing: respect and tolerance and not to be forced to do anything we don't want to.”

“I could barely function as an adult; I slept through alarm clocks and lost train tickets mid-journey.”

“Much of the discussion around how people look at women focuses on culture, as if the media is entirely to blame. As if, without magazines and commenting hosts, we'd all suddenly dress in practical overalls and only judge a person on the quality of their charity work and poetry.”

“Someone who didn't do comedy might think it was awful to have someone talking about you. But I just love the attention, even if I'm not there.”