I've never considered myself a celebrity or even part of the entertainment business. I'm a cooking teacher.

I did not become successful in my work through embracing or engaging in celebrity culture. I never signed away my privacy in exchange for success.

Being a celebrity you always get really good seats to sporting events but you never get as good seats as the photographers get. And I really love sports. So one of the scams I have going now is I want to learn sports photography so I can get better seats at a sporting event.

If you look at the footballers you look at our celebrity culture we seem to be saying 'This is the way you want to be'. We seem to be a society that celebrates all the wrong people.

What's sad is that there is an addictive quality to that to believing your own hype to allowing yourself to become validated by others and no longer by yourself. That's the danger of celebrity.

There's all this stuff that is happening in Edinburgh now it's a sad attempt to create an Edinburgh society similar to a London society a highbrow literature celebrity society.

My goal is to get another 30 years out of this business. So I need to figure out the fuel to do that. And so far I think it's respect and quality and company not celebrity or box office or stardom. It's not a sprinter's approach. It's more like a long-distance thing. You can stick around a lot longer if you kind of slow-play it.

I keep it real normal like I don't try to act like a celebrity or say that just because I'm on a TV show I can do other types of TV. I take it very seriously and I respect the art of acting.

The special relationship between the region and a regional celebrity means that people feel that they have a special investment in you.

I am of mixed minds about the issue of privacy. On one hand I understand that information is power and power is well power so keeping your private information to yourself is essential - especially if you are a controversial figure a celebrity or a dissident.