Haven My jane fallon

The bestselling novelist, 58, in the office of the home in London that she shares with partnerRickyGervais

1 soap and glory

Ricky and I bought this house in Hampstead in 2015. This is the room where I write and hang out with our cat Ollie, who was given to Ricky as a kitten by Jonathan Ross in 2003. This sign was presented to me when I left EastEnders in 1995. I worked on the soap for two and a half years, as a script editor and then a producer. My era featured the Sharon/Grant/ Phil love triangle, and the arrival of David Wicks and the Jackson family.

2 seriously funny

This photo of my late dad Patrick [right] with his brothers Mikey and Eddie was taken in the 1930s. Dad made me laugh all the time, but also instilled in me and my siblings the importance of making our own way in the world. I’ve also inherited his cynicism and pessimism – the reverse of Mum, who died a couple of years ago and was endlessly sunny. Dad died in 1996, just after their 50th wedding anniversary.

3 bedtime story

It was amazing when Richard and Judy chose my first novel, Getting Rid Of Matthew, as one of their summer book club reads in 2007. This promotional poster is a happy memento. I’m a terrible insomniac and came up with the premise for the book one night at 4am while lying awake trying to think up ideas for a new TV show. Becoming a published novelist was a dream come true. 4 bookworm I was given this book, Tim And

Charlotte, written and illustrated by Edward Ardizzone, when I was two. Apparently, I carried it with me for years before I could read and followed my mum around endlessly like a duck, saying, ‘Read, read, read.’ When she finally gave in, we’d get to the end and then I’d simply say, ‘Read it again.’ It started my lifelong obsession with reading. When I was six I would write little books about anthropomorphised animals and I was furious when Dad wouldn’t sell them in his newsagent’s shop. 5 shop talk My parents inherited this wooden cash register when they opened their newsagent’s in Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, in 1963. I’m the youngest of five children and we all lived in a flat above the shop. Mum and Dad worked incredibly long hours, so oncee a week I’d stay at my grandparents’ house after my dance lesson. We hadd a lovely routine: my grandmother would cook me egg and bacon for teaa, then we’d sit and eat together. All thee women in my family are strong and mym grandmother was no exception. 6This6 careering ahead This phphoto, from 1983, was one of the firs st Ricky and I had taken together. . We were in our New

Roman ntic phase. We met at

Unive ersity College London and click ked instantly, mainly bec cause we made each other lau ugh. We’ve now been tog gether for 36 years. I’ve alw ways had my own career, but t it used to bother me tha t people might think I’d piggy y-backed on his success. I’m more rrelaxed now, although if I dropped d dead tomorrow I know the headline wwould say ‘Ricky Gervais’s girlfriend’ before e ‘bestselling novelist’.