FREEMA AGYEMAN

I couldn't sustain myself if I skimped on food - I work 16-hour days, I need the energy, I can't afford to be stingy on what I eat.

The way sci-fi works, you can never die.

I went to a very academic school that actually - when I got to the point of wanting to pursue acting, they just had no idea how to do that, because all of their contacts were very academic.

I love hotels for their solitude and comfort, but I believe a seedy one can have as much promise as a plush one.

I swing between procrastination and being really thorough so either way things aren't getting done quickly.

I only unwind at facials and massages.

I was very much into science when I was young - I wanted to be a marine biologist, then I wanted to be a doctor, and then something else, I was always changing.

I'm terrified of bugs and I travel with sprays, lotions, potions; the lot. I have to check the room before I go to sleep and if I come across a bug and fail to remove it I have to sleep in a separate room as I'm paranoid that I'll be taken advantage of as I sleep.

I always have to have breakfast before I leave the house, even if it's 4 A.M. and I'm not hungry.

I constantly make lists and itineraries and then can't stick to any of them.

I appreciate individualism.

I'm fully aware that 'Doctor Who' will always, always be part of my life, and that's not something I would run away from in the slightest. I wear it with pride, definitely.

I used to be absolutely addicted to the gym and I do still love it.

I've had journalists beg me to please say something negative about my estate.

I'm one of these people that if I have a nice holiday - like I have had in Turkey repeatedly - I go back a lot.

I don't have an iPod! It's never appealed to me, really.

My own style is one of not much effort.

I'm not very glamorous.

Being short works for me.

I know it's really square but I'm one of those people who piles on the factor 50 as soon as I'm outside.

I found a lot of comfort in the fact that 30-odd people have been companions before me. I think that when there are so many people contributing so many things to the show, all you can do is make it your own. You can't try to emulate anyone, because who would you pick? The companions are very much the everyman, and the audience watches the story through their eyes, so they could be the person next door. And everybody's different.

Whether people watch Doctor Who or not over here, everybody knows about it. It's a British icon, it's so part of the nation.

I went to University after my A levels and did a degree in performing arts. It was only when I got there that I realized there were stage schools out there, and you had your union and your contacts and The Spotlight and this whole world of the acting industry that I had no idea about. So when I graduated, I took a year out and just thought really hard about whether it was something I knew enough about, and whether it was the career I could dedicate the rest of my wacky life to.

David Tennant is a massive fan, and grew up dreaming he would be the Doctor Who one day. So I did feel, when I first got the job, "Right, now I've got to do loads of research into absolutely everything Doctor Who." But that's not possible to do in a short space of time. So my knowledge has been growing and developing as I've been doing it, and that's been fine. That's been appreciated by the fans, and the executives never expect me to be brushed up on absolutely everything.

I was very much into science when I was young - I wanted to be a marine biologist, then I wanted to be a doctor, and then something else, I was always changing. Acting didn't come up until much later, probably about 16 or 17. I thought, "Oh, I quite like this."