10 minutes with Mary Beard

You’ve said that ‘a library is a place to eat, drink, smoke substances legal and illegal, and have sex’…

I was speaking from some sort of experience. If you’re 57 and have lived your life in universities, there’s not much you haven’t done in libraries.

Is Oxbridge elitist?

There’s a difference between being intellectually elite and socially elite. Oxbridge is making huge strides against social elitism but it’s going to go on being unashamedly intellectually elite.

I hear you had rules on Meet the Romans.

Absolutely: no dressing up, no CGI and no reconstruction. You don’t need to put Beard in a toga to make a point.

How would you have fared as a Roman?

Extremely badly. Being a woman would have been ghastly and, let’s get real, I probably would have been a slave.

You’ve said if you want to understand a culture you should look to its lavatories. What do our loos say about us?

Currently they’re very gendered. I’ve always believed that blokes make all the decisions about the country at the urinal.

Are empires fated to collapse?

We’re in an interesting moment, at the end of the American empire and the beginning of the Chinese. I’m pleased to be living in post-imperial Britain, it’s rather nice living in a faded power.

Is the coalition working for you?

It’s certainly put me off voting Lib Dem.

Because of university fees?

That has an enormous impact on access to universities. Think about the vast amount of debt students accrue; if you say that won’t put people off, you must be mad.

Will we see more women over 50 on our screens?

I hope so. Most viewers couldn’t give a toss what I look like, they’re just thinking, ‘This woman knows her onions.’