By Rob Mcgibbon
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The prized possession you value above all others⦠My three-year-old dog Maude. Sheâs half lurcher, half Parson Jack Russell and travels with me a lot when Iâm on a theatre tour.
The unqualified regret you wish you could amend⦠Saying mean and catty things. It makes me feel queasy.
The way you would spend your fantasy 24 hours, with no travel restrictions⦠Iâd start the day with a platter of tropical fruit by the volcanic Boiling Lake in Dominica with my daughter Mary [28, whose father is actor Bill Nighy] and all my nearest and dearest. Weâd have a dip in the Emerald Pool, then fly by helicopter to the Sierra mountains in Ecuador to go skiing. Iâd go for lunch in Rome and have fish with champagne risotto and a chocolate desert. After, Iâd walk around the Hermitage museum in St Petersburg, then head back to my cottage in Suffolk and cook dinner for my family with a few bottl es of Dom Perignon champagne.
Actress Diana Quick says her pet hate is bad driving: I succumb to road rage myself when I see people in cars behaving obnoxiously - I¿m filled with a spontaneous, implacable fury'
The temptation you wish you could resist⦠Procrastination. It would save me a lot of hassle if I could stop saying, âOh Iâll do that tomorrowâ.
The book that holds an everlasting resonance⦠French Provincial Cooking by Elizabeth David, which a boyfriend gave me when I was 19. It gave me the cooking skills that I still use.
The priority activity if you were the Invisible Woman for a day⦠Iâd eavesdrop on the homeless and see what I could do to help them.
The pet hate that makes your hackles rise... Bad driving. I succumb to road rage myself when I see people in cars behaving obnoxiously. Iâm filled with a spontaneous, implacable fury.
Flamenco dancer
The film you can watch time and time again... The Spirit Of The Beehive, a Spanish film from 1973. Itâs about a girl who befriends a fugitive after the Spanish Civil war. It conjures up images of how I felt as a little girl.
The person who has influenced you most⦠Mary Davies, who was my English and drama teacher from when I was 13 to 17. She inspired my love for acting. Sadly, she died a few years ago.
The figure from history for whom youâd most like to buy a pie and a pint⦠Catherine the Great. Iâd ask her about her favourite possessions in the Hermitage and why she was such a despot!
The piece of wisdom you would pass on to a child⦠Believe in yourself.
The unlikely interest that engages your curiosity⦠Dancing - Iâve learnt flamenco and salsa. Even in a shop Iâll hear music and I have to stop myself movi ng to it.
The treasured item you lost and wish you could have again⦠A Tiffany diamond necklace I was given 35 years ago by my then boyfriend Albert Finney. He took me to the store in New York and there in a cabinet was a single necklace waiting for me. Heâd set it all up. I was devastated when it was stolen in a burglary in 2011.
The unending quest that drives you on⦠To feel at peace with myself in understanding why weâre here and that Iâd done the best I could if life were to suddenly stop.
The poem that touches your soul⦠So Many Different Lengths Of Time by Brian Patten, one of the great Liverpool poets of the 60s. Itâs about death and it particularly resonates with me now because Iâve reached that age, 66, when people close to me have started to die.
The song that means most to Diana is Sexual Healing by Marvin Gaye, left, and the book that has special resonance for her is French Provincial Cooking by Elizabeth David, right
The misapprehension about yourself you wish you could erase⦠That Iâm scary. Iâm not sure if itâs down to the perception from interviews or the roles Iâve played, such as judges. Iâm actually kind and generous-spirited.Â
The event that altered the course of your life and character⦠I contracted Hepatitis A when I was 19. I was in a coma for ten days and it was touch and go. My idea of the world changed afterwards. I suddenly knew I was mortal and I became more measured.
The crime you would commit knowing you could get away with it⦠Iâd take money from every major corporation and redistribute it to those in need.Â
A Tiffany necklace from her ex-boyfriend Albert Finney is the treasured lost possession Diana would like to be reunited with
The song that means most to you⦠Sexual Healing by Marvin Gaye. Hearing it always makes me happy and want to dance.
The happiest moment you will cherish forever⦠The moment Mary opened her eyes after three days of being unconscious in hospital following a car accident when she was two-and-a-half. Â
The saddest time that shook your world⦠That accident. We were in a major pile-up in fog on the A12 north of Ipswich. At first she was conscious and was only complaining of stomachache, but when we got to hospital we realised she had severe internal injuries and needed emergency surgery.
The unfulfilled ambition that continues to haunt you⦠To play fading actress Arkadina in Chekhovâs The Seagull.
The philosophy that underpins your life⦠Try to live each day as if it is the only one. Be here now.Â
The order of service at your funeral⦠Iâm not religious and all I definitely want is for them to play Listen To The Lion by Van Morrison and scatter my ashes somewhere in Suffolk.
The way you want to be rememberedâ¦Â As someone who could be trusted.
The Plug⦠Diana appears in The American Plan â" first play in the 2013 Ustinov Studio season â" at Bathâs Theatre Royal, from Thursday until 6 April.
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