Sarah Parish

“I'm a big-boned, athletic-looking woman, and I have to make the best of what I've got. I like to stay fit and healthy, but I could probably give myself a break sometimes.”

“I love acting, but don't necessarily enjoy other aspects of the business. For me, going to celebrity parties is like work.”

“I'm really tall, and I used slouch and think it was really uncool to stand up straight - now I wish I hadn't been quite so dumb!”

“I don't think anyone's life is totally wonderful, however it looks from outside.”

“My earliest memory is of sitting at Mum's dance school, watching her teach a ballet class.”

“I'd love to look like my mum when I am her age. She taught ballet for years, and my attitude to exercise and fitness has definitely been influenced by her. She's 84 now, and I've watched how well she has aged, and a lot of that is to do with her fantastic posture.”

“Marriage is hard, and it can be tough when you're both actors.”

“The best job was when I was at drama school and I cleaned flats in the Barbican. I loved it. They were spotless anyway, so you'd just watch the telly and flick a duster around.”

“Plastic surgery can't make you younger or more beautiful, because beauty is in your eyes, isn't it? It's in your soul; you can't strap it on.”

“I think you can have your career and still bring to your family something very, very special. There are some people who are born mothers, who don't want to work and just want to stay at home, and that's fantastic, but for me it was something very difficult.”

“Living with fear stops us taking risks, and if you don't go out on the branch, you're never going to get the best fruit.”

“I've had to deal with my tragedies, and how you cope with them is what life's all about. You can choose to let them consume you or choose not to.”

“I'll see a beautiful dress in a shop, and then I'll put it on and it looks dreadful because I'm just too curvy. I have to choose carefully - I steer clear of high necks and go for tailored, fitted things.”

“I think insecurity does drive people. I know it's what drove me to push for the work I've got.”

“I hope I'm very similar to my mum because she is a fantastic mother. She was driven as well as being incredibly protective and caring, and I think that is important.”