SAMANTHA BOND

I have to be careful what I eat before going onstage, to avoid an upset stomach.

I managed to slip two children out in the middle of my career and have been lucky with all the work.

When women's parts are being written, they are more and more for under 30s who are nubile and beautiful. Actresses over 40 are finding very little happening.

The bravest thing I've ever done is fly to New York. I'm simply terrified of aeroplanes - I am the woman you see weeping at the airport.

Not a lot of people know this, but I'm very good at mathematics. When I was an angry teenager, I used to sit in my room and do quadratic equations to calm myself down.

I had absolutely no idea of the scale of its following and the globalness of 'Bond'.

If I pop off and do something drastic, everyone's going to realise because they know I'm 50. Anyway, middle-aged women are sensational.

'Downton' is one of the best jobs in the world, and I'm looking forward to the next series for Maggie Smith's wicked sense of humour.

I think one of the most important things I can give my children is the right to be themselves.

I always have bananas with me for energy.

I think that as you get older, you become aware of everything that could go wrong.

It's always been a dream of mine to be Ginger Rogers or Cyd Charisse, and here I am performing alongside Robert Lindsay and being directed by a major Broadway producer. Who said dreams don't come true?

I adore acting; it's in my blood - quite literally - but I can honestly say the most creative thing in the world for me is being a mother.

I've always had this sneaking suspicion that I get a kick out of the insecurity.

It's one of the oldest theatrical adages: never work with children or animals.

Something like 'Sex And The City' was insulting - women all clawing on to their youth when there's such ripe territory in honestly exploring women's lives as they get older.

Sometimes I'll work through the crossword sections of three separate papers.

I tend to opt for relaxed family holidays when I can.

Agatha Christie holds special personal memories for me because my mum, a television producer called Pat Sandys, had been the first person to persaude the Agatha Christie estate to put one of her stories on T.V.

Nobody can prepare you for the loss of a parent.

I've been married to the same man - even after the separation - longer than most people in this business. I'm sick to death of people mentioning it.

Filming is quite exciting because every day is different, but it can involve long hours standing around in chilly locations. Theatre is a very different challenge because every night you're striving to keep it fresh, even though you might have been performing the same play for months.

One of my earliest memories is of being about three and a half, climbing through the legs of a man who I didn't know was the famous actor, Patrick Magee.

I'm an appalling flyer. I get very tense, although I no longer weep uncontrollably for no reason - I just sob if there's turbulence.

Inside my heart, there's a 12-year-old girl who has always wanted to be Ginger Rogers.