I once did a record store signing in LA, which I had no business doing. No one was there – just staff. They were getting ready to close the shop and sweeping up.

I’ve shat myself in public three times. It’s never quite as bad as you fear.

If you’re a mother, you are embarrassing. Is that not just the way?

Years ago, I was trying to get with one of the big agencies and I cobbled together a VHS tape of me in adverts and sobbing in The Bill, and took it United Agents for the attention of Dallas Smith. A week later I went back and said, “Has she looked at the tape?” And they were, like, “Dallas is a he, no he hasn’t and he doesn’t want to,” and handed it back to me.

Arrogance, bullying, meanness – just try to be kind, it’s not difficult.

Live in the moment. Enjoy life because time cruelly speeds up as you get older and becomes scarily finite.

After the birth of both my children, although Manchester United winning the treble in 1999 came pretty close.

Working in a very busy bar in the West End when I was trying to pay my way through drama school. I had to dance in a cage in a vest and cycling shorts to Venus by Bananarama, Greased Lightnin’ and Y.M.C.A. every night. It was excruciating.

A couple of years ago we moved to East Sussex – I had been living in London for 35 years – and couldn’t work out why I kept waking up and thinking, what’s that sound? It was actually silence.

Professionally, becoming a relative success in a job that I love; and personally, helping to raise two wonderful children.