Do you have a massive TV front and centre of your living room?

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Oh no, I don’t like that. It freaks me out when TVs are too big. Ours is in a corner. There’s a working fireplace in front of our sofa so me and Tom [her husband, actor Tom Goodman-Hill] can get a nice fire going. I don’t really like eating in front of the telly, but sometimes it’s just the best.

Do you watch much TV?

I love watching telly. I hate it when actors say they don’t watch television – they’re like, “Oh, why would I waste my time watching television?” It’s like saying you can’t spell – why wouldn’t you watch it?

I cannot bear it. Is watching a drama a bit of a busman’s holiday?

No, I find it really fascinating – more so because I know the process. I think it can go one of two ways when you are in the business. You can get a bit bitter about the parts you haven’t got, or you can appreciate how difficult making amazing television can be and be generous to other people’s efforts. And so when I see really, really good telly I absolutely love it. The potential in this media, beamed into people’s houses, is just huge, and I aspire for everything I do on it being the best it possibly can.

What have you been watching?

The Crown. My God, it’s so good. It was really inspiring. The writing is beautiful and subtle and I loved all the nuances – nuances that a lot of period dramas miss. Instead of trying to shoehorn in a load of events that we’d all recognise, it concentrated on character.

Are you a binge-watcher?

I do like a binge. But I feel a bit gross if I do more than two episodes in a row. Two is fine. Three’s too many. You’ve got to binge judiciously.

Are you a second-screener?

Yeah, and I hate myself for it. Looking at your phone while watching TV is such a horrible habit. I have got to stop but it’s a case of rewiring my brain. I don’t do Twitter but I am on Facebook – but no one would know my name on it. When you’re not in the living room you’re… Cooking. I cook and drink with big music on and dance madly. I quite like making a nice jambalaya, while singing “Jam-ba-lay-aaaa” to the tune of the Gypsy Kings’ Bamboleo.

Any surprising hobbies?

I’m really into gardening. Our new house has a garden and the gift list for our wedding was all plants. When I got back from filming The Last Post in South Africa I went totally garden crazy. I should say that I’m in the trial-and-error stage, where I am killing a lot of things.

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Jessica Raine stars in The Last Post, Sundays 9.00pm BBC1

Authors

Thomas LingDigital editor, BBC Science Focus

Thomas is Digital editor at BBC Science Focus. Writing about everything from cosmology to anthropology, he specialises in the latest psychology, health and neuroscience discoveries. Thomas has a Masters degree (distinction) in Magazine Journalism from the University of Sheffield and has written for Men’s Health, Vice and Radio Times. He has been shortlisted as the New Digital Talent of the Year at the national magazine Professional Publishers Association (PPA) awards. Also working in academia, Thomas has lectured on the topic of journalism to undergraduate and postgraduate students at The University of Sheffield.

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