I think I must have too much to eat, we were doing a scene where we were crawling, and I ripped my trousers. I was very embarrassed. I was sown in, stitched in, quickly!

Doctor Who is like any long-running series in that the cast tend to look to the star to set the general tone. Rehearsals and filming could be a lot of fun.

Playing an alien gave me plenty of scope, and I was able to develop it once I became a member of the team.

I got very fit that week with all the running around that we di. I was always last, because I can’t run as fast as everyone else. I’m useless at running.

I don’t think I would have stayed for the second season if I hadn’t been happy.

Strikes always leave a bad taste with everyone.

I love photography. My boyfriend’s got a great camera, which I bought for his birthday.

After two years of doing one show, you do get attached to everyone.

In the studio, if they need to come down to the floor, things are a bit pushy, although it is easier for them to say things directly rather than through about five people.

Some of those cartoons look nothing like me.

I often look at a lot of Doctor Who stuff that’s about now, which no one has approached me about.

Before I got Doctor Who, I went to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. I went back to take the final grade exam, which is the grade you have to take before you can take the teacher’s diploma.

I went to ballet school for nine years, and there was an agent for the whole school who happened to be there visiting one of the performances. She suggested an audition.

I’m not really a science-fiction fan, I quite like the idea of getting away from the science-fiction side of it, for two episodes. It was lovely, it was a super story and great fun.

I think I must have too much to eat, we were doing a scene where we were crawling, and I ripped my trousers. I was very embarrassed. I was sown in, stitched in, quickly!

I enjoyed working with Peter, I was very pleased when I heard he was going to be the Doctor.

I thought The Visitation was good fun. We did some of that filming at Ealing on the big set.

I do still like television very much, but the theatre does really have something special about it.

One of my favorite stories was Black Orchid, because it was so different from all the others. I especially enjoyed dancing the Charleston. I have always been keen on dancing.

I’m a terrible person for carrying things around. I carry everything around with me, it’s like my home.

I’d like to do some more classical work if I do some more theatre.

I found it a little bit stressful, because I wasn’t used to working with Doctor Who. I got the impression I’d walked into the end of seven years and it was all a bit tense.

When we went to Belfast we saw some beautiful countryside and coastlines.

What you don’t see backstage is what really controls the show.

We had a very energetic floor manager and he was always jumping around all over the place. The director would send down messages like, Can you tell that actor to calm down?

I would like to direct. What goes on behind stage is very interesting.

I don’t know if you’ve ever tried writing a Doctor Who story, but it’s a lot more difficult than it initially appears, especially if you’ve got more than one assistant.

I like the stories with the historical themes.

The cybermen are good monsters, I think. My earliest memories are of the cybermen from when I used to watch when I was younger. It’s nice to have them back.

There are generations who watch Doctor Who together.

There’s lots of interesting jobs in the profession besides acting, and I like to try and keep an eye on and understand other people’s jobs, rather than just my own.

I enjoyed showing a bit more leg in the last few stories. It was good fun, but it can be quite sexist. But it doesn’t worry me personally all that much.