HONEYSUCKLE WEEKS

Politics is not a game for naive thinkers. You may go in as an idealist, but you certainly won't come out as one.

If you live in the countryside, you understand that hunting isn't just for toffs. It's for the farmers. It's for everyone's enjoyment.

I do cook a lot for myself. I tend to cook from scratch, a lot of stews and things, lots of beans, because beans have got lots of protein in them but not fat. I am partial to a bit of cheese - I try to limit myself in my cheese intake, but I do enjoy a good smelly cheese. Stinking Bishop is a good one.

I used to run ten miles every other day and eat very little. I was living in London on my own for the first time and no one was checking on me. I wasn't anorexic but lost three stone. I weighed around seven. It lasted six months until I ran out of willpower.

'Foyle's War' made me realise that Churchill actually had questionable morals; his decisions meant that good people died. It must have weighed heavily on his soul, but he never let his personal demons get in the way of what was best for our country.

The coral that grows at the edge of the reef is always the strongest and most colourful because it faces the greatest battering. It's the same if you're called Honeysuckle. I'd have had a totally different life if I'd been called Mary.

I think Emily Blunt is definitely our finest young female English export. She has an uncanny grace.

My father was a tyrant about reading, and that put me off books when I was little.

Size zero doesn't make you happy, and I'm not sure I have the discipline for Hollywood. I'm too much of a fan of chocolate and crisps.

I'm looking forward to sproglets but, as I'm the main breadwinner, I feel I ought to capitalise on my career for a bit longer. Mother keeps telling me I should go and freeze some eggs. Not terribly romantic, is it?

I think to be a good actor you need either a good experience of life or education, or both.

My uncle worked in emergency wards dealing with people who came in with terrible injuries. He talked about the sketch shows they would put on to lighten the atmosphere. You often find this sense of grim humor in hospitals. The injuries people are suffering are ghastly. You have to laugh at something or you'd otherwise cry.

All my grandparents and great aunts and uncle love 'Foyle's War.' They all lived through the war and love to see it reconstructed so authentically.

I tried doing yoga, but I have dislocating shoulders, one of which has been pinned, so I find things such as yoga and pilates, where you have to stretch quite high up with your arms and things, quite difficult.

I have always been a fan of Jim Henson, and I love his Creature Shop creations, the skill of the puppets and the characters he creates.

I loved the energy of Dublin and the fact that it's so close to the sea, with beauty spots such as Howth so close to hand.

'In many ways, I was born a hundred years too late. I often feel out of kilter with the modern world.

My health is important to me. I run with my dog, twice or three times a week.

London is not a healthy place. I feel much healthier when I'm living in the countryside or, indeed, anywhere out of London. When I go back to the countryside to visit my mother, I get out of the car, and suddenly there's great wafts of fresh air.

My dad had a small suitcase stuffed with photos, mementoes from wherever he'd traveled as a Royal Navy gunner. Not that he gunned very much, as it turned out. I'd haul it out and go through it time and time again.

My parents wanted to be actors. They tried for years but didn't get anywhere. Then Mum got pregnant with me and they decided to make actors out of their children. You need your parents' support if you're going to do it. Otherwise who's going to ferry you to castings?

Of course, it's wonderful to film any period piece - but especially 'Foyle's War' because the art direction is so imaginative and yet at the same time so real. You can open a drawer on set, and even though the camera never sees what's inside, it'll be filled with genuine 1940s documents.

Acting's incredibly enjoyable, but sometimes it doesn't feel quite enough. I've also written a script about the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine. This will make me sound like a female Kenneth Branagh, but I can't think of anything nicer than directing myself from a script I wrote.

From the very start, if there was a spotlight, I would step into it. My parents wondered what to do with this insufferable show-off. They chose acting for me, and I'm very grateful I can still make a living from it.

I've had a wonderful time in 'Foyle's War' and I don't mind being typecast. But I'm not prim. I'm chaotic, happy, and desperate to have some laughs. I'd love to do a comedy next, or something modern.