After growing up in a touring theatre company run by your parents, are you nomadic by nature?
I used to love being on the road and touring, but now I prefer to be at home with my family and two sons, 33 and 19, or on holiday — I love good hotels, with clean linen sheets on the bed.

At 60, you look great; and you bared all at 50 . . . What’s the secret of your youthful good looks?
There is no easy way round keeping your looks. The only way for me is through exercise. A lot. I have been touring now for five weeks, and find the mornings hard, because I haven’t been able to exercise.

So you’re a serious gym bunny then?
I do weights and cardio three times a week, along with hatha yoga. If I don’t do it, I feel stiff.

There must be some days when you are tempted to roll over and go back to sleep?
No, self-discipline comes naturally to me. I don’t have to force myself to the gym.

You’ve strongly denied going under the surgeon’s knife — but what about the syringe?
Yes, I do have injections in my face from Dr John-Louis Sebagh (who gives vitamin, collagen and Botox injections). I like what it does to me, it’s natural-looking.

And the gamine figure?
I’ve never had to worry about my weight and I don’t follow any regime. However, I won’t eat junk food. There are Italians and Indians in my family, so we tend to eat fresh food and cook a lot. I’m not a vegetarian and I’m not a fan of sweet things, which has been an advantage to me.

Ever indulge in the sauce?
My sin is red wine. I’ll have a third glass of red wine with cheese late at night, which is not a great idea, because I wake up feeling terrible.

How about the demon weed?
I used to smoke — everyone did. I enjoyed it but I was never a heavy smoker and don’t think I ever inhaled properly. I gave up about 15 years ago. But I smoke on stage in Amy’s View — it’s required by the role.

What about the other kind of weed? Did you have a misspent Sixties youth?
I didn’t swing in the Sixties! I wish I had. I was very prudish. I really didn’t understand what was going on. I tried marijuana twice, and it made me feel so sick and paranoid I never wanted to try it, or anything like it, ever again. That was probably a blessing in disguise.

Do you believe in a higher power?
I converted to Judaism in 1983. I am not a deeply religious person but it is a vital part of my life. It shapes my beliefs, and how I look at the world.

How do you generate some Zen?
Having a dog has actually opened a new door for me, spiritually. Going out every day in all weathers, wind, rain or sun. I find this very centring, to be out in the elements, looking at trees that have roots that have been there so much longer than you have, watching a sunset in the evening. It makes you feel so alive. I think it’s vital to have that time where you can get back to the bigger picture, and remind yourself how wonderful this world is and how we must look after it.

You are reunited with your ex-husband, the playwright Michael Rudman, whom you divorced in 1990. Are you a hopeless romantic?
I’ve always been romantic. I think it’s a curse not to be romantic! I didn’t fall in love with Michael all over again, it was a continuation of something that had always been there.

Is being an actor a licence to work out your emotions?
I used to bottle them up. Now I think: “I haven’t got 60 years ahead of me to work this out.” I don’t have a quick temper, but I am pig-headed when I feel I’m right about something. I’m like a dog with a bone.

You’ve had your fair share of traumas — you lost your sister to cancer in 1984. What’s your coping mechanism?
Just hang on in there.

When are you happiest?
When I’m with my extended family. There are 18 of us, and even more when the Indian relations are present.

Are you scared of meeting your Maker?
Not in itself, just that it might come too soon. I am already ten years or so luckier than my sister, who died at the age of 49. I fear having an accident and suddenly disappearing. But I fear the loss of other people more, especially my children. All mothers feel that.

What’s your best quality?
A real enjoyment of other people.

And your worst?
My ability to be critical. I can love with great passion but then also be blunt and say: “Oh what a load of old bollocks!”

You embrace all sorts of roles, sit-com to classical. Are you highbrow or lowbrow at heart?
I don’t know. I’m an actor. I just do my job. But the thing I love most, at the end of the day, is a play written by a great playwright.

Amy’s View opens at the Garrick Theatre, London WC2, on November 20. Call 0870 8901104 for tickets

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