Burke: New show is my autobiography

Kathy Burke has said her new show Walking And Talking, based on her experiences as a teenager, is the closest she will ever come to writing an autobiography.

The actress and director revealed that despite turning down many offers to publish her life story, she jumped at the chance to write the four-part series, which follows young 'Kath' and her friend Mary walking around her home turf of Islington and chatting.

Kathy said: "I thought, 'Oh all right; well this is my autobiography then', and to me it's just enough. I'm not going to write any more.

"I was worried that it might come across as too indulgent, but I can honestly say it's been one of the best work experiences, ever, for me."

The 48-year-old actress said of writing an autobiography: "I mean, I've been asked. I just feel we're inundated with them, you know?

"But I'm also such a lover of books, I so admire the writer, more than anyone else, that it just never appealed to me to write an autobiography."

But Kathy admits she made sure she left out the nasty side of teenage life from the show.

She said: "Kath in the show is what I was like. I was like a sort of 40-year-old. But of course, what I don't include is the horrible side of me. If I'd have shown her more at home, I would have had to have shown her like a typical, miserable, moody teenager!"

:: Walking And Talking starts on Sky Atlantic on Monday, June 25.