The Birds Of A Feather star talks about how she felt when she first read the script, bonding with the cast and watching herself on TV.

Can you describe your character?

Paula is a nurse and Jamie's mum. He's the centre of her world and she's very much a full-on mum. She's headstrong and opinionated, but basically just a normal woman with an ordinary life. She is happily living in Slough... then look what happens!

How does Paula feel about Jamie's friend Dave?

She's always thought that as far as friendships are concerned, Jamie could do a lot better. She's not impressed with him.

What attracted you to the role?

My reaction to reading the first script was 'Oh my God, oh yes please, thank you very much for asking'. It's really different, funny and dark in places, and the script was fantastic. It was the same with Broadchurch. I read the first episode and said, 'Look, if I'm not in it obviously I'll be disappointed, but I'll definitely still be watching it'. I will watch this because it's different and it's going to look brilliant.

What do you look for in a role?

I love telly, that's my thing and, after being in the business for 47 years or something like that, I know when something is going to make good TV. This stood out because it's different, it has a really good mix of characters, it's set all over the world and it's going to be worth watching.

The scale of this is pretty big, isn't it?

Oh my God, the read-throughs! You've never seen so many people in one room! Read-throughs can be pretty scary anyway and generally there can be anything from 30 to 50 people there. But there were so many more than that here. It was massive. And exciting to hear all the voices for the first time. I hadn't met the director or the writer before that and they were both really lovely, clever and bright. So yes, you realise you're playing with the big boys.

Did you and Mat bond right from the beginning?

We got on straight away, three of us, actually. Me, Mat and Joel. When Megan Mullally arrived at the read-through we were so excited but tried to be kind of cool about it and probably failed. They're really lovely and we've been
having a good laugh.

If you received news of an impending apocalypse, how would you spend your final 34 days?

I don't think I'd start knocking walls down in my kitchen, like Paula seems to do. I love that, though, that she thinks: right, there are 34 days left and I've always wanted an open-plan kitchen-diner. I don't really know what I'd do, maybe try to get to the shops so I could be prepared for the end, if they hadn't already been looted by then.

Would you want to take the option to survive the apocalypse in a bunker if the offer were presented to you?

Only if my loved ones were with me, otherwise I wouldn't be bothered.

How would you describe the show to entice Sky 1 viewers to tune in?

It's something you've never seen before. It has a clever, intricate storyline, without being too complicated, and it's funny. If I wasn't in it, I'd be watching it. It's definitely one to series link.

So will you watch You, Me And The Apocalypse even though you are in it? Are you OK about watching your own shows?

I don't understand when people say they can't watch themselves. You've got to watch so you can learn. For the first episode of a new series I've done, we'll have friends around and make an event of it. We did it with Birds Of A Feather and Broadchurch.