Quotes from Mathew Horne

I won't leave the house without having a shower and, as much as it makes me a terrible anti-conservationist, I often have two a day.

I wouldn't want to be a part of something that has gone off the boil a bit and isn't as good as the last series. I have confidence enough in my own ability to go on and do something else.

I am not really a fan of beaches or lying by swimming pools, and as I have quite sensitive skin, the sun is my enemy.

A dressing room is both a personal space and a workspace. It changes with the flick of a switch: turn on the relay - the speaker linked to microphones in the auditorium - and you're at work; when that's off, it's your sanctuary.

The first time I ever met posh people was when I went to Manchester University to study drama, but I couldn't care less about people's backgrounds - it's all down to the individual.

I'm quite ritualistic about my preparation. I always shower before a show, even if I had one before leaving my flat.

I always plan what I'm going to wear, although I hope my clothes say that I look really good and I've not thought about it! Ironing is part of the preparation, so I don't mind it.

There have been a lot of strong women who have had a huge influence on my career. I'm working with Imelda Staunton at the moment and she's definitely one of those women. And I would include Kathy Burke, Alison Steadman, Kylie Minogue and Catherine Tate as well.

I wanted to be a prosthetic makeup artist after watching 'A Nightmare On Elm Street'.

I find it ever so archaic, chanting, but I can see why people do it. I love seeing people getting all their frustrations out for the week.

When I was about 24, I went to Reykjavik with Benedict Cumberbatch for a few days. We took a three-hour coach ride to a glacier and raced on snowmobiles at 60mph.

I played in goal for Notts County juniors. I liked that sense that goalkeepers were outsiders, mavericks. But I stopped when I realised I wasn't going to grow any more. I'm 5ft 7ins so I couldn't have been a professional.

My upbringing was very basic working-class on the outskirts of Nottingham. My mother, Glenis, was a nursery nurse, looking after special-needs children, and my father, Brian, became the manager of a lace factory after working his way up as an apprentice.

I feel most relaxed when I am acting or writing.

I've always been a clothes horse, and I spend a lot of money on designers.

Whenever I am not filming and not required to travel with work, I spend all my downtime in Scotland.

Elves, Eskimos and aliens are the type of girls I am attracted to. I've been going out with my current girlfriend for a year. She looks like a cross between an elf, an Eskimo and an alien, with a bowl haircut and little thin legs.

A sketch show by its very nature is hit and miss.

Jealousy isn't something I do. I am not a jealous person.

Budapest was very beautiful and spending the day under a canopy of Hungarian trees, on horseback, was fantastic.

I go to the gym four times a week and play football about twice a week. I'm pretty active.

Most dressing rooms are sterile and they feel like someone else's space. But over two weeks of previews, before the show officially opens, they transform - filling up with cards, flowers, home comforts.

I can't remember a Christmas where I didn't have a rotten cold, and I always get one about two weeks into a job. I definitely get man flu - I'm not brave at all.

No, I'm far too selfish to have a child. Also, I couldn't bear to have an ugly child. I'd have to be 100 per cent sure that the girl I had a child with was good-looking. You can never tell because you don't know what's going on while it's being fermented. You'd have to do a lot of research to check that they didn't have ugly genes.