Rupert Penry-Jones

(on the dancing required while filming Jane Austen's "Persuasion") Rupert: We only had to do one. You feel a bit of a plonker. It's very hard to look sexy and skip about at the same time. Smouldering and skipping don't really go.

(on the rolling format of Series 6 of "Spooks") Rupert: I was worried that the scripts wouldn't quite work out and to be honest there were a few hiccups to begin with, but if things carry on the way they are this series is going to be even better than last year. It's more ambitious, it's very exciting and it's very topical.

(comparing his work as an actor to the role of a spy) Rupert: An officer could be walking along discussing a life and death situation and people are all around, going about their normal lives and oblivious to it. In the same way, when we're filming and doing a long shot, I'm maybe walking over a bridge surrounded by hundreds of people, and they have no idea what I'm doing. There's that feeling of separation, and reality becomes surreal. It's as though our characters escape into the real world, you're not really part of society.