John Simm

John: (on narrowly escaping a serious car crash): I was actually travelling up to see them play last week, the Man Utd versus Chelsea game last Sunday when I was involved in a car accident, so I never made it. It was on the M1 and that's why my hand is in this bandage. I'm OK but I was very lucky to walk away from it. I'm fine now.

John Simm: (on if he'd come back to Doctor Who): I'm not, by the way, ruling out a return to Doctor Who in the future. It's too exciting a show to be a part of for me to do that.

John: (on his role in The Devil's Whore): Oh, he's a horrible, nasty piece of work - a really feral, stubborn bastard, The minute I read the script, I was bowled over by it and by him. It's a hell of a part and I'm really, really honoured that they gave it to me. I had to fight for it though. I had to audition - which was something I hadn't done for ages - and I won it, which was really great.

John: (with some advice for aspiring actors) Be honest with yourself and confident, but not misguidedly so. Then walk into interviews and auditions as if you're doing them a favour by doing the job.

John: (on his worst job) Working in a bar in the West End during the late Eighties where I had to serve drinks and do dance routines to Greased Lightnin' wearing cycling shorts.

John: (on the success of Life on Mars) I didn't think for a minute it was going to be massive. I didn't even know if it would work. Let's face it, the premise is ridiculous!

John: (on taking his role in Doctor Who) The hardest thing about it was I had to leave to start filming in Cardiff just three days after my daughter was born, which was a pain in the arse. I was very tired and obviously my wife wasn't ecstatic.

John: (on accepting his role in Doctor Who) "It's a great honour. I'm not a sci-fi maniac or anything but I enjoy it."

John: (on appearing in Life on Mars) I've never done anything so mainstream and glossy before.

John: (on Life on Mars) If it had been a hazy, nostalgic 1970s trip with Noddy Holder running around and funny accents going on, I wouldn't have done it. There were some very dark things going on in the 1970s - racism, strikes, the Birmingham Six, the Guildford Four - and we need to reflect that in Life on Mars.

John: I was born in 1970 so my personal memories of the Seventies are a bit vague. I do remember bits of it very well, 1977 for some reason – I remember a specific t-shirt that I wore, which had a Starsky & Hutch yellow transfer on the front.

John: I do like doing comedy, I was in Spaced and I did a sketch thing with Steve Coogan once, and I've worked with Ricky Gervais.

John: (on the appeal of Life on Mars) Everyone dreams about going back in time and meeting their parents when they were young. It's that thing of 'could you change the future?'