Rebecca Front

If somebody puts olives in front of me I have to finish the entire bowl, I can't leave any.

I'm a saver, but not a very successful one. I'm quite cautious about money, which I think you have to be when you're freelance. You're more aware that money comes in dribs and drabs.

When I was younger, I loved people like Beryl Reid and Irene Handl - really strong actresses who could also do comedy.

Seven miles a day is a doddle in the right footwear.

Like most actors, I'm quite shy, so I liked being other people.

Travel, I have belatedly realised, is not just about sightseeing, notching up destinations in a futile, trainspotting way.

I hate tunnels, fear air crashes, loathe coaches and get sea-sick. I'm also vegetarian, so 98% of the menu in any restaurant is a no-go area.

I'm not one of nature's travellers.

I'm a hypochondriac, so I feel I am permanently close to death.

I'm an addictive parent and adore being with my children, so for me having concentrated time together on holiday is heaven.

When I was a child, I don't remember anyone ever mentioning cellulite. There were no adverts, as far as I recall, for expensive creams to 'remove' it; people didn't routinely discuss liposuction.

I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that I have no accurate sense of what I actually look like. I've seen myself on television, but that's not me being me, but me being whichever character I'm playing that day.

The 'mirror face,' it's called in my house. Most of us have one, if we're honest. Mine comes from arching my eyebrows, sucking in my cheeks and pouting a little. I do it when I'm putting on make-up and when I'm trying on clothes.

I watch what I eat but I don't diet. If I did, I'd be resentful about all the things I was depriving myself of.

As a feminist, I don't like the notion that women have to look a certain way: I think confidence is the most attractive thing.

When it comes to clothes, I think I subconsciously dress for the occasion. 'When I go on Have I Got News For You,' say, I wear sharp suits to boost my confidence because it's quite a male environment. But I can also be 'actressy,' as my daughter calls it - a bit more showbiz.

I'm almost always drawn to ensemble pieces - I like being surrounded by people.

I once tried to feed 15 kids on a group holiday. Each parent said pasta with tomato sauce would be a sure-fire hit. But one wanted pasta with no sauce, one wanted sauce without pasta. One could only eat it if the sauce was mixed in with the pasta, which another found repellent.

We never went abroad until I was 12, as we didn't have the money. But I remember crossing the border into Scotland when I was nine. We'd left England - the height of sophistication!

West Somerset is one of my favourite places: there's fabulous walking with cliffs, forests and rivers.