Top 100 Quotes & Sayings by Sheila Hancock - Page 2

I like being on my own, but at times when I don't, I'll phone a friend or the grandchildren.

I'm just driven. It's kind of a disease. I'm not proud of it, but it comes from my parents. You work and you earn your money and only spend the money that you've earned.

I was terribly ambitious: I was always thinking why wasn't I in the West End. I really wasted my whole youth.

People are surprised because I drive a Jaguar XK sports car and say the occasional intelligent thing. People think I'm an exception, but I'm typical of a lot of women of my age.

I wish I could say I was wise and clever, but I'm really not.

I've got a great relationship with my oldest grandson because we go to political meetings and lectures, which I love.

I've been lucky enough to love dearly the people I cared for, but even then there were times when I thought, 'I can't bear any more.'

I don't want my daughters reading about the day I was furious with one of them and said something horrible, that I didn't mean, except on that particular day.

I live in a perpetual state of fear.

There isn't a carer in the world who doesn't say, 'I hate it. My life is being ruined. I didn't see my life like this.'

I'm dirty in an argument; I'll win by any method. But I change my mind all the time and I will admit when I'm wrong.

I used to be the sort of person who'd listen to a taxi driver going on about the-country-going-to-the-dogs-blah-blah, and let him rant on. But now I don't. I find myself letting rip.

I think when you're coping with grimness perhaps you do get sillier and more escapist in what you want to see at the theatre.

I'm not a good Quaker, really I'm not, but it's a lovely thing to aspire to.

I love classical music. It's my stabiliser.

I think in some reality shows people are chosen because they are laughably bad, so that the nation and the panel and everybody else can laugh at them.

I don't really despise anyone.

When you've been bereaved, you expect other people to rescue you, but I'm afraid they can't - it's down to you.

I cannot pass by seeing a child shouted at, and people dropping litter. I'm terrible for intervening. There's nothing worse than busybodies like me. I should learn to mind my own business.

You have to be very careful about your mental health.

I love computers. I think it's a miracle that you can type 'coffee stain' into a search engine and get a page of answers, but I don't like the viciousness of the Internet. It gives public voice to quite mad people.

On 'The X Factor,' they deliberately have people on that are awful just to laugh at them.

It is well known that people who are involved with people who have addictive problems have a problem themselves. You are drawn to mad living, a kind of insane thing. It is much nicer when it stops, believe you me.

I don't like to let people down.

I'm wildly left wing, but I'm also a terrible chauvinist.

When I started in the business there were no women in executive positions, no women producers or directors and certainly no camerawomen and we were destined to do very archetypal roles, very cliched things, so I was a dizzy blonde for years.

When you lose someone you have two choices. You can stay stuck where you are or you can say, 'I am now on my own, my life has changed and I need to change the way I operate.'

In the old days I'd like to have been a politician, when I think the world was more idealistic. When I was young I did a lot of campaigning.

I can't think of anybody among the greats who isn't constantly looking at themselves and feeling dissatisfied. You're greedy in this business: always wanting to prove you can do more. I don't ever remember a time when I've said, My God, I've cracked it - this is lovely.

Solitude is part of my life, and I don't mind that. I like it. I love it. I don't allow loneliness to be part of my life, let's put it that way. I really won't allow it. If I feel lonely, I phone somebody or I go for a walk or a swim, get the endorphins going, because I hate feeling lonely.

I sometimes buy the Daily Mail and hide it in my Guardian.

There's an incredibly grand attitude towards musicals. I don't understand why my profession is so snooty about it.

I wouldn't dream of giving any human being marks out of 10 on two hours' acquaintance.

I've been married to two mad, bad, dangerous-to-know men and it was good.

Nobody has a completely happy life, unless you're completely imbecilic. Life is mostly pretty awful.

We should be so grateful for musicals, and the amount of work that goes into these shows is easily comparable to things I've been in at the National and the RSC. Why do we think it is less important?.

You're never going to get 2,400 people a night for a play. I'm sorry, you really aren't.

I get into an awful lot of trouble for not being polite.

My new catchphrase is: 'Pull yourself together.' I've done the inner child, I've had analysis, I've decided that unless you're mentally ill and need support, it's up to you.

Mindful that it's running out, I am determined to have the time of my life.