Quotes from Helen Baxendale

I don't think I could cope with being David Schwimmer-ly famous.

'Cuckoo' really is one of the best shows I've ever been in. I'm genuinely excited and proud to be a part of it.

I love the idea of seeing a character - I mean, there's nothing like seeing a character and having the huge detail and roundness that a character in a book can give you. It's so much more full than a character in a script can give you, isn't it?

I'm not that much of a celebrity really so I don't know if it makes any difference whatsoever. But if any publicity can be gained at all for a brilliant charity like Friends Of The Earth, that's great.

I don't have any regrets whatsoever because it has been my life. I've been very privileged, I'm lucky and I'm still alive.

After I'd been on Friends, people would whisper as I went past. I no longer had proper dialogues with people.

It's actually a privileged existence - I get to do some work, but I can walk down the street and have an absolutely normal life, rather than existing in some strange bubble.

I've never had a facial, ever.

We've still got a cathode ray TV with a big back. An ancient, massive thing. All our teenagers' friends come round and say the TV's really cool. The picture is so much better than HD TVs - everything looks like film. It's not digital, and we still haven't got Netflix. It's too confusing.

People expect because it is called 'Friends' that everyone was great friends, but they were real professionals.

When I'm filming I feel guilty about never seeing the children, but when I've not been working for six months I begin to think: 'Who am I?'

People know me but can't quite place me - they squint at me like I might be their old school teacher or a woman they've seen down the local pub.

When you're young you don't appreciate your youth and marvel in it like you should, you find endless flaws instead.

When I was growing up, we used to be like the Royle family, sitting around watching lots of TV and commenting on it. It was our focal point.

Those people in 'Friends' could not go out without being hounded, shouted at or followed. Who wants that? I don't want that.

It's frightening to go onto a stage, particularly in the first few days.

I watched 'Raiders Of The Lost Ark' about 90 times and knew every word.

If you are blonde with a little nose people always think you are gentle and not very bright.

Everything is nerve-wracking at first. Maybe it's getting older! I don't think I used to be so nervous.

I want to age the way that life makes you age, because there's beauty in autumn and winter and I think people forget that.

If you're going to be pigeon-holed as anything as a woman, it's good to be pigeon-holed as someone with an acid tongue who gets things done.

It's less frightening to do television, theatre is very nerve-wracking, very raw.

I really didn't want to stay in Los Angeles. I was working constantly and feeling so guilty that I wasn't at home.

What was great about 'Cold Feet' is that although it flew off down all different avenues, it was really based on believing the reality of the characters.