A: They say write what you know – and whilst I don’t necessarily always agree with this (I’ve never had a baby stolen, or been stalked, thank goodness), I think it helps to use locations you can write about convincingly to create atmosphere. South-East London where I grew up appears in both my books – it’s a rich area for a writer – pockets of refinement beside deprivation. I always knew BF would be split between London – the hub of TV-land – and Cornwall, one of my favourite places in the world. It was important for the story that Maggie had somewhere to run to – somewhere she felt safe; and my own enforced separation from the sea means I can write about Cornwall nostalgically.

Q: Did you have anyone in mind as inspiration when you created Maggie, Alex and Seb? Who do you think could play them in a movie?

A: Maggie is mainly fictitious, but I guess there are elements of me in her. Seb I have never met (please draw your own conclusions!), whilst Alex is inspired not by an ex-boyfriend but partly by someone I once knew, a long long time ago! How about Sally Hawkins to play Maggie? Sienna Miller could play Bel, I think – or skinny Serena! Seb – James McAvoy or Dominic Cooper? And Alex – well, my favourite film-star of the moment is Casey Affleck – he may be a little on the short side, and he’s American of course, but I’m sure he’d be happy to practise his British accent! Or what about Andrew Buchan from The Fixer?

Q: Do you draw upon your own experiences with family and friends as you create characters and plots?

A: I think any writer would be lying if they said they never drew on personal experience, but I certainly don’t start with family or friends as the basis for characters, although sometimes little bits of people I’ve met might creep in somewhere. A trigger for Lullaby was a real-life incident when I got separated from my baby son, but it was only a trigger. In BF, obviously my career as a TV director meant I understood the workings of that world, and I wanted to write about the responsibility we have towards the people we rely on to be in our programmes. Fortunately the rest of the book is definitely invented!

Q: Which writers do you particularly admire? What kinds of books have inspired you?