‘Lots of actors, like me, have imposter syndrome’

The Crown

To do a decent job as an actor, you need the hide of a rhinoceros. If you don’t get a job, you need to be tough and not take it personally. I think I was born with a little bit of that hide but once you’ve had a child [her daughter Alice is also an actress], your perspectives change and you think, ‘What someone thinks of me isn’t really that important.’ Suddenly you have this little person who loves you unequivocally, and it doesn’t matter if you’ve had a bad day at work and forgotten your lines because they just think you’re marvellous.

Create your own party. for women. When I was young, marriage wasn’t very fair to the female sex. I was a feminist and wanted my freedom. But I’ve also always been a romantic – I wanted lots of love affairs but I didn’t want to settle down. I had [Alice] with someone who sort of felt the same way, so that’s worked out nicely and we all have a very good relationship. When I met my husband Mike in 1978 we were both with other people. It was always a wonderful working relationship and we always met for a meal whenever I hit a round number. On my 60th birthday, we were sitting in a restaurant and I said, ‘Come on, let’s get this together.’ It’s worked out very happily. [Mike] is the love of my life, romantically.

Keep calm… on the surface, at least. I’m a very self-contained person. I tend to carry my shell around with me. As a little girl, I got so excited about things I would sometimes faint. Over the years, I’ve kept a rather calm manner on the surface. It would never do to go around fainting all the time.

Wellbeing is about doing what makes you feel happy and healthy.