I think one of the most important things I can give my children is the right to be themselves.
Samantha Bond
Agatha Christie holds special personal memories for me because my mum, a television producer called Pat Sandys, had been the first person to persaude the Agatha Christie estate to put one of her stories on T.V.
I'm very shocked when I look at television and I see such an aggressive youth and image obsession in the representation of women on our screens.
Something like 'Sex And The City' was insulting - women all clawing on to their youth when there's such ripe territory in honestly exploring women's lives as they get older.
I tend to opt for relaxed family holidays when I can.
Not a lot of people know this, but I'm very good at mathematics. When I was an angry teenager, I used to sit in my room and do quadratic equations to calm myself down.
I always have bananas with me for energy.
Inside my heart, there's a 12-year-old girl who has always wanted to be Ginger Rogers.
One of my earliest memories is of being about three and a half, climbing through the legs of a man who I didn't know was the famous actor, Patrick Magee.
My best friend is my husband.
I've been married to the same man - even after the separation - longer than most people in this business. I'm sick to death of people mentioning it.
It's one of the oldest theatrical adages: never work with children or animals.
I'm an appalling flyer. I get very tense, although I no longer weep uncontrollably for no reason - I just sob if there's turbulence.
If I pop off and do something drastic, everyone's going to realise because they know I'm 50. Anyway, middle-aged women are sensational.
Nobody can prepare you for the loss of a parent.
I lost a girlfriend when I was in my 30s. She was 46. It all sounds so trite, but I put a Post-it on my dressing-room wall. It said, 'The past is history. The future is a mystery. This moment is a gift, which is why it's called the present.'
'Downton' is one of the best jobs in the world, and I'm looking forward to the next series for Maggie Smith's wicked sense of humour.
It's always been a dream of mine to be Ginger Rogers or Cyd Charisse, and here I am performing alongside Robert Lindsay and being directed by a major Broadway producer. Who said dreams don't come true?
I grew up without the rose-tinted look at the profession many of my friends had, but I've been very lucky playing major roles in 'An Ideal Husband', 'Arcadia' and 'The Memory of Water'.
Filming is quite exciting because every day is different, but it can involve long hours standing around in chilly locations. Theatre is a very different challenge because every night you're striving to keep it fresh, even though you might have been performing the same play for months.
I adore acting; it's in my blood - quite literally - but I can honestly say the most creative thing in the world for me is being a mother.
I think that as you get older, you become aware of everything that could go wrong.
I managed to slip two children out in the middle of my career and have been lucky with all the work.
The big thing that Moneypenny changed was the amount of charity work that I was able to be involved with.
The middle-aged woman is the ground bed of the audience that watches television, and yet they are absolutely invisible.
If you put people up on pedestals, there's only one way for them to go, and that is down.
I get so nervous before I go on stage that I can never eat very much, so I'm always completely starving afterwards and dying for a bowl of pasta.
Sometimes I'll work through the crossword sections of three separate papers.
My father Philip was an actor and appeared in everything from 'The Onedin Line' to 'Hedda Gabler' with Dame Diana Rigg.
As a child, I always remember our home, which was a flat just on the Barnes side of Hammersmith Bridge in London, buzzing with actors such as Patrick McGee and Peter Bowles. We were a family who were always on the go.
The bravest thing I've ever done is fly to New York. I'm simply terrified of aeroplanes - I am the woman you see weeping at the airport.
My nickname is Bondy. But not because of the Bond films - it was my surname a long time before I did those.
When I got on stage, I would have a rush of adrenaline; everybody gets it. Normally after the first night it becomes more controllable, and as long as I could ride the wave, I was still in charge.
I've always had this sneaking suspicion that I get a kick out of the insecurity.
I had absolutely no idea of the scale of its following and the globalness of 'Bond'.
I love Manhattan.
I have to be careful what I eat before going onstage, to avoid an upset stomach.
When women's parts are being written, they are more and more for under 30s who are nubile and beautiful. Actresses over 40 are finding very little happening.
