Jane Lynch: 'I couldn't have coped with fame when I was younger'

Lynch says: 'I couldn't have coped with fame when I was younger' (Getty Images)

My life has changed since 'Glee' I recently went to my doctor and had no make-up on. I didn't look great, and had to put my bag in front of my face when someone tried to take my picture. Then again, when I first picked my daughter up from school, the kids were like, "It's Sue Sylvester." Now I'm just another mum.

If I could talk to my 20-year-old self I would first of all shake her by the shoulders, get rid of the perm, and say, "Just relax, and don't worry so much."

My troubles were of my own making I've lived quite a safe life, but for some reason I suffered. No horrible things – I'm of a privileged white class – but I had all sorts of shames and fears. I'm a little bit of a worrier. Even now I'm full of anxiety, afraid the parade's going to pass me by.

Once you shine a light on your fears they become laughable One day in therapy I was talking about how pissed off I was that people were passing me on the wrong side of my bike and how dangerous it was. My therapist said, "I want you to write a monologue in that voice." I did and I barely got through it, we were laughing so hard.

I couldn't have coped with fame when I was younger I was very influenced by what I'd hear on the outside. I would have been reading blogs and they would have hurt my feelings. Or if they were positive, they would have inflated me. I would have had a hard time finding a happy medium 20 years ago. At 51 I can handle it.

The great thing about the industry today is that you can create something and get people to see it When I was in my twenties and thirties I would be doing little sketch shows and the only people who would see them would be those who drunkenly came down the street and fell into our theatre. Today, people have their own YouTube channels.

Hosting the Emmys last year was stressful but I'm glad I had the experience. What kept me sane was that I knew that the awards were the most important thing about the event.

I have about 30 tracksuits for 'Glee' They're crazy colours. I have a fuchsia one. I have a lime-green one. They're just... they're fabulous.

'Glee' returns to Sky One on 1 March