"I knew of Queen, and I knew of Freddie, but I didn't know who the rest of the band were. I became friends with Freddie first; then I got to know the others."
"'EastEnders' changed everything. I was a jobbing actress living in Stepney, and I was on the dole at one point. Then people started to send me scripts, which was always my dream."
"To make a marriage work, you have to want to. If you want to stay with that person, you will. It's simple."
"We learn by misfortune."
"There's no secret it's hard work. Even though Brian's the love of my life, and he's absolutely adorable, it's not easy, and we have to work at it. But because we love each other and keep working at it, it pays off."
"Brian and I have ups and downs like every marriage does. Although he's a legend, he's still, inside, an ordinary man, and I have got to remember that once we get inside the door, it's just us two."
"I'd sue the bottom off my husband if he dared to put me in one of his films, and he knows that."
"I'm very protective of friends and family."
"Something devastating can happen to you, and it can have positive consequences. By the same token, something fantastic can happen, and it can bring a lot of trouble. That's life."
"Everything in life is a double-edged sword."
"The reason I wanted to do 'Strictly' in the end is that you come out of it having learned something."
"To be playing Joan Crawford is as good as it gets."
"When I was a kid, I used to watch all those Sunday afternoon matinees featuring all the Hollywood greats."
"People who are geniuses, once they get going, you really have to keep up."
"I think you can do as much damage to yourself going to the gym and running as you do good. So my mission in life is just to keep myself 'good' - in good health, as fit as I can be, a little bit of stretching, and just think positive and enjoy life."
"The last place you'll find me is the gym. It seems to me to be a waste of time - I could spend that time doing so many other things."
"I got extremely fit and slim on 'Strictly,' but I did find that, each week, a different part of my body hurt. It really makes you realise the hard work dancers have to put in and how fit they have to be."
"I'm pretty fit. We've got a lot of stairs in our house, and I'm up and down them all the time. Plus, I don't smoke, and I'm vegetarian."
"I think when I started out, when I was very young, I wanted to be an actor and do the great epic tragedies."
"I thought that's where I would go: I would become a Shakespearian actor."
"You turn down work you feel you've already done."
"People are innately curious."
"I went from being a jobbing actress who was just earning a living to being the second most photographed woman in Britain, next to Princess Diana - but it was exciting, too, and I wouldn't have swapped it for a second."
"Wonderful things happened to me - I met my husband, I got invited to previews and premieres, I was asked to do fashion shoots and front covers of magazines. You've just got to embrace it and do the best you can."
"For me, to be on television and not be afraid of making a mistake is freeing."
