Quotes from Sarah Lancashire

Young people are often portrayed in a very negative and stereotypical manner.

There's some truth that roles for older women are harder to come by, but it's wrong for actors to monopolise the ageist thing.

I'm absolutely certain that audiences want to see older women on their TVs.

I think going to university, getting married, having children, and then having the choice to stay at home to raise those children is a very valid one for women and they shouldn't be castigated for it. It's a great job. Not many men would do it.

'Happy Valley' is an extraordinary piece and it was not necessarily about Catherine but her part in the narrative.

I do have a slightly rebellious streak in me, I'm afraid.

Acting is a subtle combination of hiding and revealing yourself, and as I'm not an extrovert, this is painful for me.

I think women have not been terribly kind to other women for a very long time.

I'm driven by fear.

It started at 49 with 'Tango in Halifax' and then 'Happy Valley.' I can't complain at a time when most actors are disappearing. I seem to have become very visible.

I've learnt that it's possible to be as anonymous as you want. It's a choice, and I've become very, very good at being anonymous.

You have to have brilliant people to work opposite, and then it does become like a real tennis match and this is our sport. With somebody like Mark Lewis Jones, who is extraordinary anyway, you just know it's going to be a good match.

I don't feel that 40 is anything these days. Our life expectancy is so much greater that maybe 50 is the new 40.