When I moved into my current home, I converted the small bedroom next to mine into a dressing room. It’s girlie heaven: I had bespoke wardrobes and shoe cupboards made, and I’ve furnished it with a lovely glass-topped table covered with French fabric, a huge gilt mirror and a comfy chair. I do my make-up in there, surrounded by perfume bottles and lamps.
What’s the worst house you’ve owned?
I’ve never had one, because I’ve been brilliantly buying properties since I was 19. I like moving, and I’ve owned 11 in total. I’ve been in my current house for seven years, and that is almost the longest, as an adult, I’ve lived anywhere. I contemplate moving because I enjoy the challenge of doing up a new house, but I’m finding it hard to part with this one.
And the best?
I’d have to say my current house in west London. It’s Georgian in style, although it was built in 1837, the year Victoria came to the throne. It has lovely high ceilings, elegant cornicing, period fireplaces and a sweeping staircase. I love looking at the turn of the handrail.
What’s your favourite British property to visit?
I’ve rented a lot of Landmark Trust holiday properties, and one of my favourites is Morpeth Castle, in Northumberland. I stayed there in the mid-1990s with my friend Alex Jennings while we were performing with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Who would make the list for your dream dinner party?
The Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard — and you can read whatever you like into that. We first worked together in Italy in 2012, on a film adaptation of Romeo & Juliet, and we were reunited three years later for the BBC series River. He’s funny, warm and talented, loves women and has eight children. At a pinch, I’d allow Meryl Streep to come for pudding.
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Which album has survived all your house moves?
I still have all my old vinyl albums, but the one I return to again and again is Stevie Wonder’s 1976 Motown album Songs in the Key of Life. It reminds me of my youth and that blissful heartache — at least, in hindsight — we are all addicted to in our twenties.
What item could you not live without?
My NutriBullet. I use it three or four times a week. I’d also miss my iPhone because it enables me to keep in touch with my son and four-year-old granddaughter, who live some distance away, via FaceTime and Skype. If I didn’t have regular access to her little face, I’d be a much sadder person.
If you weren’t living here, where in the world would you be?
The south of France — one day, I’d like to have my own place there. My dear friend, the director Sir Nicholas Hytner, owns a beautiful house there, and I stay pretty much every year. I love the French way of life, particularly their passion for food, because I’m a big foodie. They can spend the whole day thinking about what they’re going to eat in the evening.
Best move on the ladder?
In 1978, when I was 21, I bought a maisonette in Chiswick for £12,000. I lived there for 18 months during a property boom, then sold it for £30,000. This enabled me to buy a one-bedroom flat, with a tiny mortgage, and work at the Royal Court theatre, where I was earning £80 a week.
Worst disaster at home?
I recently had a blocked drain, and while it was being cleared, a rat got into my kitchen. Suffice to say that rat is history.
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What’s the first thing you do when you come home every day/after a holiday?
I get into soft, comfortable clothing — what I call my scrunchies — warm up the house, put all the lamps on, make a cup of Yorkshire Gold tea, switch on Radio 4 and snuggle down to rebond with my house.
Do you garden?
I’m a novice. I’ve planted a row of amelanchier trees and a nice silver birch, and I have roses clambering up the walls.
The last building that made you cry?
I did a reading at St Paul’s Cathedral for the Multiple Sclerosis Society’s Christmas concert. The building is breathtaking and it made me weep.
Hampstead, featuring Lesley Manville, will be in cinemas from June 23, The DVD of the TV drama Harlots is out tomorrow, and the series is also available on Sky Box Sets