The writer's room is a really interesting place to be.

Back in Australia, I did foster care for sick cats for years, and I was always most successful with the animals when I was given two - a brother and sister.

I'm sort lucky in that for me, I'm a writer now. I started as an actor but I'm a writer and so things like 'Wilfred' and shows like that are where I escape to.

I see something that seems like standard fare, that I can imagine any number of actors playing, and I'm generally not interested.

I've received much from Manchester - a great career at the highest level, unconditional support from the fans through thick and thin, a lovely family, and so much more to be grateful for.

Beanbags and softball matches and a cool Twitter handle doesn't make young people want to work at your office.

Whenever I made money I invested in myself... I bought whatever I needed to make my career better. I never really spent money on other stuff, like buying expensive cars.

My father was a Foreign Service officer, a diplomat and an Arabist who spent virtually all his career in the Near East, as it was called in the State Department. So I spent most of my childhood among the Israelis and the Arabs of Palestine, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.