My first job was in pantomime; I was a chorus girl in 'Dick Whittington' at 16. I got the part by ringing the director daily to see if anyone had dropped out, and it paid off eventually, when I was cast as a rat!

I was 18 when I got my first acting job.

The thing about members of your family is that if you met them for the first time at a party, you might not bother to take their phone number, and yet something binds you.

I got my first job by exceeding expectations.

I was never a pretty girl, so I wasn't the one to get the boy. I used to cast myself as a good sport. Sometimes I wonder if I do that too much with roles I play, because if I'm absolutely truthful, I quite like being the best friend, or the supporting role, and actually I ought to gear-change and make myself the leading role.

At 11, I got my first job in a mini-series for America, and it was very exciting.