Fresh Meat: Zawe Ashton - no one at drama school could understand what I was saying

What do you remember about your freshers week?
I remember no one could understand what I was saying because I used to mumble a lot, which isn’t ideal for an actress. That soon got beaten out of me at drama school!

Did you live in halls or a flat-share?
Like the characters in Fresh Meat, I found my accommodation quite late and ended up in these terrible privately-owned Halls. I lived next door to a wannabe DJ who played really loud, really rubbish music in the middle of the night, every night, although he was well aware that I always had a 9am start.

Were you domesticated?
I took to the cooking pretty well; I just dished up the same thing over and over again – chicken salad everyday for a year.

What do you wish you’d known then?
I wish I hadn’t worried whether I was too fat or too thin or that I only knew how to cook one dish. Because when you look back at it, you realise this is the time of your life.

And your top tip for this year’s freshers?
It's a shame Woolworths isn't around any more because that's where I decked myself out. So my advice is: learn how to cook eggs because you're going to need them.