Ever spent a night in hospital? Only for C-sections with the two children. It was rather lovely because even though I didn't have a natural childbirth they really tried to give me as close as possible to it, so afterwards they let me use the birthing pool with the baby.

Do you worry about your weight? No, because I've always been skinny – skinny to the point where people still think they can remark on it even now I'm in middle age, whereas you wouldn't dream of going up to a fat person and saying, "God, you're a bit too fat." Extraordinary, isn't it?

How do you relax? The only time I'm truly relaxed is when I am asleep. I have tried various different types of meditation, I've tried yoga, I've done tai chi, but they all make me want to scream. I need to be unconscious.

How much sleep do you need? Between eight and nine hours is like heaven for me, but I never get it. I feel much softer if I've had enough sleep. I'm a fantastic sleeper – which is very fortunate given what I've just told you.

Attitude to smoking? I've been quite hypocritical about smoking, because my dad died of a smoking-related illness and I used to refuse to buy his cigarettes for him when I was growing up. But last year I played a character that virtually chain smoked and I found myself sneaking out with the dog, having a fag on a log in the wood near my house. At 44 I started smoking. Luckily it was easy to stop, but it was quite frightening how quickly that happened, and how I could square it away in some way.

Attitude to drugs? My honest answer is they just frighten me. I suppose that's a knee-jerk fear from a mother's perspective. I've seen the effect on people around me, even supposedly softer drugs, and the deterioration in their mental health is terrifying.

Are you happy? I'm the happiest I've ever been, as it goes. I think I'm kind of getting the hang of it, because I used to think that one day a magic wand would be waved and I'd suddenly feel blanket euphoria, but that's not the nature of it.

How do you feel about cosmetic surgery? I had a heated debate with an older actor on set recently; he was saying, "Women age differently to men," and I said, "They don't, it's just that they're not allowed to age," and I think that's where it lies. As much as I look in the mirror and think, "Ooh, I could have a few little fillers here and there," I think we owe it to ourselves to try to redress the balance.

Outnumbered: The Christmas Special is out on DVD on 18 January, priced £9.99