Jessica Hynes: 'I once spent an entire day walking from Mile End to Kilburn'

Home is…

Folkestone, Kent. In London I stay in a friend’s spare room off Harrow Road, which is so buzzing and eclectic.

First thing you do when you come to London?

Go and listen to the Street Piano at King’s Cross.

Favourite shops?

Pollock’s Toy Museum, just off Tottenham Court Road; Planet Organic on Torrington Place, and Leon, for kale-based food; The British Museum shop for pressies; and Kiehl’s in King’s Cross for perfume.

Most romantic thing someone’s done for you?

Climbed through my bedroom window with wild flowers.

Biggest extravagance?

My Chloé bag (Paraty bag, S/S 2015) and Stella McCartney boots — they’re black with a zip and a pointy toe. When I’m wearing them I feel like I mean business.

Best place for a first date?

Walking anywhere in London is blissful, at any time, in any weather. I once spent an entire day walking from Mile End to Kilburn.

Best meal?

Jollof rice and vegetables at Out of Africa, a restaurant that used to be in Clapton but closed. It was basically someone’s front room. The food was incredible.

Earliest London memory?

Flouncing down King’s Road aged 11 in an enormous hat and a sparkly dress with my friend Alice, pretending we were 14.

Favourite London pub?

The Coach & Horses in Soho. It’s Jeffrey Bernard’s old pub and is exactly the same as it’s always been, with great pickled eggs.

Last play you saw?

Clarence Darrow with Kevin Spacey at The Old Vic. Boris Johnson was in the audience. I was hoping he was paying attention.

Best thing a cabbie has said to you?

Yes, I do take cards.

Favourite London discoveries?

The clay pipes that litter the banks of the Thames at low tide.

Best advice you’ve been given?

A ‘No’ is just a delayed ‘Yes’: Ruth Caleb, producer.

Best place for a nightcap?

The Embassy in Mayfair for a herbal tea.

Building you’d like to be locked in overnight?

The National Gallery. I studied History of Art at A level and would have loved to study it further. Looking at the paintings is like being transported back in time.

Best place to let your hair down?

Anywhere with a dancefloor. Merchants Tavern in Shoreditch does a night called Spiritland, which is guaranteed to move you, or get you moving.

Building you’d most like to buy?

Tate Modern: think of the parties you could hold there.

What would you do as Mayor?

Turn Buckingham Palace into a world-class children’s home.

Last album you downloaded?

Frazey Ford’s Indian Ocean. It’s lyrically beautiful and musically reminiscent of The Band, who are one of my all-time favourites.

At the moment you are...

I’ve just finished acting in a short film by Reggie Yates. I’ve also written and am executive-producing an action series for Sky Atlantic.

Who’s your hero?

Judge Lowell Goddard — don’t let us down now.

Jessica Hynes’ talk My Secret Home with Lemn Sissay is part of the Soho Create Festival at the House of St Barnabas on 6 June at 5.15pm