Chitra Ramaswamy

Interview: Ashley Jensen, actress

There are Scottish actors, and then there's Ashley Jensen. The 41-year-old from Annan flashes her perfect teeth in a posh London hotel, all bouncy blonde hair, 21-carat confidence and the kind of dentistry you don't find in Dumfries.

Chitra Ramaswamy, The Scotsman, 8th February 2011

Giving the job of the titular outlaw to Outnumbered's Daniel Roche, who basically already is William Brown in everything but name, was a stroke of casting genius. He has the perfect naughty face for hiding in bushes, firing a bow and arrow, and he just was William when he stomped around the Botts' garden with a sullen expression and a pair of fairy wings, while Violet Elizabeth commanded him to "kith me or I'll cwy".

Simon Nye's charming mini-series set the story of the middle-class Brown family and the nouveau riche Botts in the Fifties and Martin Jarvis's voiceover was as gentle as William was roughy-toughy.

One gripe. The gender politics are unbelievably retrograde. Girls are fluffy, silly, emotionally manipulative nightmares. Boys are outdoorsy, inquisitive bullies. As Outnumbered has taught us, boys and girls can be all things. And they are equally annoying.

Chitra Ramaswamy, The Scotsman, 4th January 2011

Interview: Ali Cook, magician, comedian

Ali Cook fishes around in the pockets of his suit jacket and hands me a pair of walnuts.

Chitra Ramaswamy, The Scotsman, 17th August 2010