[on working in America] What attracts me about over there is that TV drama and TV comedy is the best in the world, but it seems like a very brutalising process. Every spring there are these planes full of British actors - it's like sardine-tins full of British hope - and they all go and sit on beaches and think it's fantastic for a couple of weeks and then get fantastically depressed and go on juice diets and come back two stone lighter and talking nonsense. (2013)

[on the rumored 2012 shoot for Bridget Jones's Baby (2016)]: It was due to shoot in August, then I was told it was delayed till September, then I was told it was delayed till October and I was having a baby at the end of October, so I was nervous, and then they said don't worry it's starting in November and I was like still, for me that was worse because either I'm going to be 9 months pregnant, or I'm just going to be fat. Either of those are bad, and then it was postponed till January, and then we had a call saying it was postponed indefinitely.

[on co-star Renée Zellweger] We got on very well. We were in touch for a bit but we were quite honest about it - she's a massive movie star in LA and I was pregnant with Ollie on the second film. When I had Ollie we talked a lot and she was incredibly kind when he was born, but you know, you're just aware when that happens that your life is going to take a slightly different path.

I'm a patron of the Skylarks charity in Richmond [south-west London], and we are now meeting lots of needs that were previously met by the state. People with disabilities fared much worse under austerity during the pandemic. So it's difficult. We know how to look after people; we know how to give people equal opportunity in life; but we're heading into bleak economic times, and people with disabilities are always the first to suffer.

All children change your life profoundly, but I do feel that that I'm interacting with parenting as a plough interacts with a field. It has knocked off some of my edges - but they were edges that needed to come off. I had a very privileged upbringing. My dad worked for British Airways so I was brought up overseas and got to see all kinds of different things. I went to Oxford... you're allowed to work in comedy if you went to Oxford or Cambridge. It welcomes all types!

When I over-disclosed details of my romantic life - whereas everybody in the UK has sort of furrowed brows - in the States everyone just [was] laughing. Like rolled on the floor, crying, laughing, banging tables at my misfortune... There is something about them just laughing without checking that is kind of freeing.

[on Smack the Pony (1999)] I work now with women 10 or 15 years younger who all grew up watching it. As a teenage girl it wouldn't occur to you now that women aren't funny. It's a definite career choice and there are loads more girls. There really weren't any then.

I met someone who said they had the amniocentesis test because she wouldn't want a child with Down's Syndrome because they might not be able to walk. Where did that come from?! I really feel the medical profession scares people unnecessarily. People say 'I couldn't handle that' when they hear about a child with Down's Syndrome. Handle what? All children are different in their own way. Yes it's changed the course of my family but that's about as far as it goes. He is such a happy child.