ZOE MEANS 'LIFE' AND IT DOESN'T get much better than that really. It does rhyme with Joey, though, which my brother took great pleasure in calling me throughout my childhood. My parents considered calling me Chloe, but there would have been the same problem.

I TRAINED AS A DANCER FROM the age of about six until I was 20. I went to dancing college and, though I don't do it professionally any more, I can still cut a rug. I did all kinds: ballet, modern, tap and jazz. It can be quite tough, but I loved it as a discipline.

UNTIL THE AGE OF ABOUT 14 I was quite solitary. You know in big schools, you have the big staircases with enormous windowsills? Well I was always sat there with my sandwiches and no friends, until I discovered music.

THE FIRST RECORD I EVER bought was Shakin' Stevens, Green Door. I'd love to say it was something cooler like The Specials, but it's not and I don't really have any excuse.

ANYONE WHO PRODUCES consistently good work is an inspiration for me. I'm a big fan of the sculptor Andy Goldsworthy. I really like the ephemeral quality to his work; a lot of it seems to be about the briefness of time and trying to capture a fleeting moment of it.

I HAD A FEW JOBS WHEN I WAS at college. One was working on the perfume counter in Boots as one of those really annoying people who spray you in the face, whether you want them to or not. Where I grew up there were all sorts of packaging factories for things like apples and meat, so I did that during the summer holidays too.

LOADS OF THINGS MAKE ME laugh. Curb Your Enthusiasm and Christopher Guest and his ensemble. Sasha Baron Cohen is a very funny man too.

CAMBODIA IS AMAZING, although holidaying there was a mixed experience. It's a place of such natural beauty but the horrors of its recent past are ever-present.

INTIMIDATION OF ANY KIND makes me angry. I don't like any kind of bully, be they social or racial.

I BELIEVE IN THE HUMAN NEED for God as a conceit. Whether or not there's some kind of recognisable force presiding over the world ... I'm not so sure about that. I occasionally pray though - when I'm in trouble.

I'M A BIG FAN OF JACK WHITE, he always seems to put out brilliant work. I went to see the Raconteurs last year and it was a real privilege to see someone at the top of their game.

PHILIP PULLMAN'S HIS DARK Materials trilogy is great. I think Pullman is really good at telling us what it is to be human. The first one, Northern Lights, is my favourite but I couldn't bring myself to see the film - I knew what my Lyra looked like and didn't want that to be shattered.

THE ORPHANAGE IS A BRILLIANT film, I haven't been that scared in about 20 years. I liked Lars And The Real Girl too, even though the original idea of it put me off a little, but it's a really lovely film.

WHEN I'M OLD, I HOPE I'll be doing good work and still in love. Hopefully I'll be living in the south of France, happy and eating al fresco.

Zoe Telford stars in The Waiting Room, which is out now Interview by Jamie Lafferty