CAROLYN PICKLES appeared in TV's Broadchurch, and is currently in rehearsals for Worst Wedding Ever at Salisbury Playhouse

What is your most precious possession and why is it important to you?

A painting of a place in southern Ireland where we used to holiday when our girls were young. My husband painted it and I will never part with it.

What was the first record/CD you bought?

A Swinging Blue Jeans single. Hippy Hippy Shake? (That dates me!) What is the radio/television show you hate to miss?

Outnumbered (TV) and Clare in the Community (Radio)

What is your favourite film?

Michael Clayton

If you could change one thing about the place where you live, what would it be?

We have a plague of moths in our home in London. they are tiny, but they’ve eaten most of our stair carpet and have started on my clothes.

What are you reading at the moment?

Just finished Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

If you were choosing a last meal, what would it be?

Spaghetti puttanesca

If you could meet anyone from history, who would it be?

My paternal great grandfather Fred Pickles.

He fought in the First World War. I took his diaries to the Imperial War Museum. He was an amazing character; very witty and courageous.

Is there someone well known you’ve met who really impressed you?

I worked with Dustin Hoffman on the film Agatha in my 20s.

He was inspirational, fanatical, warm, encouraging and funny.

Is it ever acceptable to break the law?

Yes, where it discriminates.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

The Dime Bar.

Do you have any children?

Two daughters and two stepsons.

If you had a superpower which one would you want?

Doesn’t everyone want to fly?

If you controlled taxes, what would you tax people on?

Whatever increases pollution.

What is your party trick?

Leaving.

What would you never leave home without?

Notepad and paper.

If you owned a company what kind of company would it be?

A young people’s theatre company.

Tell us about a pet you own or would like to own?

I bought my 15 year old daughter a pet rat.

Two weeks later we heard a squeaking in the cage: she’d given birth to two baby rats, which we then had to keep.

What has been your proudest moment?

Completing a relatively recent 7k run.

* Interview with Carolyn Pickles here