Working on 'The Paradise' is like putting on a comfy overcoat.
Sarah Lancashire
I would never condone anything which I thought was salacious, titillating, or gratuitous.
There's some truth that roles for older women are harder to come by, but it's wrong for actors to monopolise the ageist thing.
I truly believe that love is love and gender is immaterial.
It's down to the actors to show the writers the potential of the character.
I have never known what it feels like to wake up in the morning full of the joys of spring, and wander through the day feeling capable of coping.
I'd like to think little miracles do happen in 'Angel Cake.'
Marriage is not for everyone, but spiritually it is very necessary for me because I have a desire, a need to feel owned.
Relationships are very complex. It's very unusual to see something which is so 'complex portrayed on screen.
You start out with scripts pre-written, with no specific actor in mind, so you've got to build a character on top of that foundation. It's not just lifting words off the page, it's constructing a history around them as well.
I am a tea connoisseur and my idea of absolute heaven is a tea shop.
Celebrity and actor are two completely different professions, and I don't believe that they mix if you want to maintain any sort of credibility.
Now that I'm in my late 40s, I'm trying to make up for a little bit of lost musicals time.
My father's family, I think, were mostly from Lancashire, but I don't know how far back we go. I think it's quite a few generations.
When you pretend for a living and you have to pretend in your private life as well, it's very sad. Because it's intangible, depression is an issue that people don't like to talk about. It's like a huge, guilty secret.
If someone was walking round in a T-shirt with Sarah Lancashire on it, I'd find that very disturbing.
I think going to university, getting married, having children, and then having the choice to stay at home to raise those children is a very valid one for women and they shouldn't be castigated for it. It's a great job. Not many men would do it.
The Barbara Hepworth museum in St. Ives is fascinating. Her achievements were astonishing.
I got married only because I was pregnant. Simple as that. I am a very traditional girl and was horrified at the thought of having a child out of wedlock. I didn't want a child of mine to be different or have fingers pointed at.
Actors are bloody marvelous at hiding.
I am possibly the biggest 'Downton' fan you can ever meet.
Anyone who has to be accountable in a time when resources are shrinking, where transparency is necessary, where the pressures are greater, is going to find that it takes a toll.
'Kiri' reflects the society we're living in now, where everything has to be transparent and people are under so much pressure. The scrutiny is extraordinary and you really get a sense of panic emerging.
Young people are often portrayed in a very negative and stereotypical manner.
Soaps are a double-edged sword. There can be prejudice from some writers and producers who feel you will lower the currency of their work if you've been in one. You have to rise above such ludicrous prejudice.
I think this country is terribly, horribly obsessed with age, and it really is just this country. If you're still living and breathing at 50, then count your blessings!
I'm not always right for the role. And to be honest I think part of your job as an actor is knowing when you're not right for the role.
I own a copy of the original 'Talking Heads' by Alan Bennett, which I purchased many years ago shortly after they were first broadcast. It's been lovingly well-thumbed over the years. They are magnificent. A masterpiece.
To be asked to perform a new 'Talking Head' was beyond any expectation. The matchless brilliance of Alan Bennett's words coupled with the extraordinary wisdom of Nick Hytner's direction made this a thrilling and quite simply unforgettable experience, and I'm enormously grateful.
An 'Ordinary Woman' is the beautiful and achingly poignant portrait of Gwen, a complex and troubled woman in her middle years.
I'm driven by fear.
The work I like to do is the work I'm most afraid of.
I do have a slightly rebellious streak in me, I'm afraid.
I think women have not been terribly kind to other women for a very long time.
I can tell very early on, reading a script, within six or seven pages, whether I'm looking at real people, and whether I can see and hear real people.
I think Jack Thorne is an exceptional writer.
I'm not terribly good at being around work I don't care about!
It was easier to act, in a way, than to be myself. Somehow I just felt I was in the right place.
Most of the career choices I've made have been because of my family.
Being an actor can be a cruel experience because there is no cooling-down period. You can be involved in something that's incredibly intense, but then it's a wrap and you've finished and you go home. I find it difficult to complete a job and then return to reality and find my healthy place.
I've learnt that it's possible to be as anonymous as you want. It's a choice, and I've become very, very good at being anonymous.
My father was a TV scriptwriter. He would perform his dialogue out loud, while my mum transcribed it at the typewriter. So I grew up thinking that plucking characters out of the air was an extremely normal way to behave.
It's too easy to underestimate your audience. But it's not rocket science: bad plays don't get people on seats; good plays do.
During a performance of 'Blood Brothers' in 1990, I forgot to sing. I was so moved by what my co-star Kiki Dee was doing, that I completely missed my cue.
'MotherFatherSon' was just an extraordinary read and I wanted to be a part of it.
I think all writers have a style, a particular voice and rhythm that you have to find.
When you receive a script and it leaps out at you and it's breathing with its own heartbeat - I suppose when you read something like that it's not a choice of whether you do it or don't. It feels like it chooses you, so you just do it.
I suppose trying not to fancy Richard Gere - that's been quite hard!
Age affects us all in the workplace. We all get a little less appealing as we get older, unfortunately.
Two of the best roles I've ever had have happened in my late 40s.
