Emma Thompson

Children don't need much advice but they really do need to be listened to and not just with half an ear.

There is that thing about not working with animals and children - I don't think that's true. Although you should never work with donkeys.

I have to write for everyone. What really fascinates me is how you make films or make stories that can genuinely be shared by different groups.

As a young child my attention span was, as I remember it, rather short.

I was paid to be cheeky and people clapped me for it.

Most detective story readers are an educated audience and know there are only a certain number of plots. The interest lies in what the writer does with them.