End-of-the-world stories tend to ring true. I've always been drawn to them but as I wrote my own I found surprising pleasure in creating a world that is so radically changed yet where there's so much meaning and value in every small and ordinary thing we have and take for granted: hot showers enough food friends routines.

Meat is a big deal in my life. I do love breakfast food but I don't think that's extraordinary. I'm a normal American. We love eggs and meat and potatoes and gravy.

I've always hoped 'Chopped' would telegraph our enormous affection and love and admiration for chefs and food but at the same time we are inflicting extraordinary cruelty on them.

More than any other in Western Europe Britain remains a country where a traveler has to think twice before indulging in the ordinary food of ordinary people.

I'm looking for backing for an unauthorized auto-biography that I am writing. Hopefully this will sell in such huge numbers that I will be able to sue myself for an extraordinary amount of money and finance the film version in which I will play everybody.

You don't have to be rich and famous. You just have to be an ordinary person doing extraordinary things. I'd like more people to know that it's there. Women's achievements still aren't recognised enough in many areas.

I would like to prove that on TV everyday lives can be as compelling as the life-styles of the rich and famous. Especially lives that we catch at extraordinary moments.

The extraordinary thing about India is that it's such a family place. It's full of families everywhere.

You never know when some small thing will lead to a big idea. Travel is very inspirational - but it's in the ordinary that I find my themes of love and work and family.

It is extraordinary that when you are acquainted with a whole family you can forget about them.