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I kept on telling my parents school wasn't for me. And they were like, 'No you need to go university.'

My parents didn't go to university and weren't brought up in England. They hadn't heard of any other universities other than 'Cambridge' or 'Oxford.'

Luckily my parents were not against my ambition, they've always been very supportive. But they were adamant that I went to university first.

My parents would have loved me to go to university - Oxbridge, particularly.

I think my parents did want me to go to university just in case, but neither my mum or dad went to uni, so they couldn't talk.

My dad, in particular, was adamant that I should finish my education. He encouraged me to go to Oxford, for instance, and I rather doubt I'd have gone if he hadn't. I would have gone straight back to L.A. and tried to start my career.

I could, I think, quite easily have gone to Oxford. I got four good A levels, but my father's income was such that I wouldn't have got a grant, and he wouldn't let me go to university, and that was the end of it.

Maybe it will be difficult, but I want to finish school. My parents want me to finish school, and I am pretty sure I will. I will not go to university; I will turn professional when I finish school.

My parents spent an awful lot of money sending me to the best possible schools, and I came out of my exams and thought, 'I don't really want to do a degree.' I did philosophy with the Jesuits for about a year, and then I joined a bank. While I was there, I saw an ad in an Irish paper for radio announcers.

When I was rising eighteen I persuaded my parents to let me return to Australia and at least see whether I could adapt myself to life on the land before going up to Cambridge.