I had a mother who was very emotionally demanding, wanting to be the centre of attention. As they say in EastEnders, she thought it was all about ‘er. I spent a lot of time trying to work out what was going on. – Andrew Davies
The BBC fulfils a wonderful cultural function. Maybe the problem is that it feels it needs to be everything to everybody. – Andrew Davies
From time to time there is a move to do a little less in the way of period dramas, but people rebel. Audiences say we want them. There is a big hunger for them. I don’t think it’s sentimentality or nostalgia, it’s often that they are simply the best stories. – Andrew Davies
‘Othello’ is the most domestic of Shakespeare’s tragedies and the one that’s likely to strike a personal note with a lot of people watching it. – Andrew Davies
You’re stuck with being yourself, so the important thing is to find people who like that. – Andrew Davies
My wife likes history and documentaries, but I’m not so keen on them. I generally go and do some work if there’s one of those on. – Andrew Davies
The writer in movies is about as low as you can get and you really are a hired hand. You are paid a lot of money to be treated like dirt. – Andrew Davies
One of the things I’ve always thought is a drag in so many period adaptations is that they are always buttoned up to the neck in so many clothes all the time. I’m always looking for excuses to get them out of their clothes. – Andrew Davies
‘Affinity’ is beautiful and intense, with no laughs. It’s a rather delicate and emotional love story, with a spooky element. – Andrew Davies
I adore doing classic adaptations, but I also feel their frustrations and their limitations. – Andrew Davies
When you see two writers named on a movie, one of them did some drafts and got the boot. – Andrew Davies
I would love it if anyone gave me the job of adapting ‘The Great Gatsby,’ but nobody ever does. – Andrew Davies
Plan for each episode to be a satisfying experience, but still leave the audience thinking, ‘Oh, my God! Now what?’ – Andrew Davies
I know that a ridiculous number of classic serials have been commissioned, and that reviews show a reaction against them. The critics seem fed up. – Andrew Davies
The most moving scene for me in ‘Pride and Prejudice’ is the Pemberley music room scene: Elizabeth has just saved Darcy’s sister from embarrassment and confusion, and as the music plays on, Darcy’s look of gratitude becomes a look of love, which we see reciprocated in Elizabeth’s eyes. – Andrew Davies
I’m absolutely delighted if people think of me as a reliable purveyor of quality period stuff. – Andrew Davies
An adaptation I was working on of Trollope’s ‘The Pallisers’ has been axed by the BBC… I was also going to do Dickens’ ‘Dombey and Son’ but they’ve asked me to do ‘David Copperfield’ instead. – Andrew Davies
I prefer love scenes to be shot up close with a lot of focus on eyes and mouths. Otherwise it can feel uncomfortable and voyeuristic. – Andrew Davies
I’m glad nobody has asked me to adapt ‘Wuthering Heights’ because I think I would make a mess of it. Everybody makes a mess of it. I think the Bronte Sisters are mad. – Andrew Davies
I got quite cross when I heard about Emma Thompson adapting ‘Sense and Sensibility.’ It was absolutely childish of me, but I thought, ‘I should be doing that. They didn’t even ask me.’ Some mistake, surely. – Andrew Davies
Look at Jane Austen. Her characters derive in a reasonably straight line from fairy tales. – Andrew Davies
