FIIIIINALLY BEING NOMINATED FOR AN EMMY:
"It doesn’t matter how long I had to wait, as long as I got there in the end; the wait just made everything more exciting. I’ve been trying to stay really cool, like Fonzie, but I’m actually much more Richie Cunningham. I’m like an overexcited hormonal teenager ... Of course it was something that I would’ve really liked in an ideal world, but I’m also quite lucky that I love my job. And so while it’s lovely to be recognized in some way, shape, or form, I always consider myself such a lucky girl anyway. A nomination was secondary, the cherry on top of the cake."
PERSONALLY CONNECTING WITH CONTESTANTS:
"It was never a preconceived notion I had, really. But these people are incredibly talented, they’re incredibly passionate about what they do, and they work really, really hard. What we’re doing is taking normal human beings and putting them in the most extraordinary circumstances. And it’s live in front of millions of people, and there are no retakes. So you’d have to be a pretty strange person to not connect with these contestants."
CALLING OUT THE JUDGES FOR CONTRADICTORY CRITICISMS:
"Nigel’s actually a really great boss, and lets me do what I want. The one thing I would never do is comment technically, because I don’t have that knowledge and those guys do; even our guest judges have all got real heavyweight backgrounds. But if I feel like one week they say to a couple, 'That was great because you put your own style in it,' and the next week they say, 'No, you were putting your own style in it, and that’s not good,' then I’ll jump in. I listen to everything. The big thing is, if you are actually in the moment and you really do listen, you know what you’ve got to say. But if you ever step out of it, try to self-edit, I don’t think it works. The right thing will always come to you as long as you’re in the moment. And Nigel has never said 'These are the parameters you can work within, or these are the constraints that we have on you.' They let me do what I like."
PREPARING HER EMMY OUTFIT:
"It’s like being given the most humungous, delicious, exquisitely heavenly box of chocolates, and going, 'Ooh! Which one will I have first?' I’ve got a few ideas already, and a few [designers] have approached me about wearing something for them, and it’s heavenly for me.
"Oh, I’ll probably go quite classic. Because you don’t know how many times you’re going to be nominated, and if this is my only time, I don’t want to go down in fashion hellfire and be banished to purgatory in some terrible dress. I’m a girl from a small town outside of London, my mom and dad aren’t anyone famous, I never went to [private] school, and it’s kind of bonkers, if you think about it — for me to be doing a show I love as much as I do, and to have this [nomination], too. So no, this is not the moment to take huge fashion risks; it’s a moment to really enjoy it, and to make sure I can hitch that skirt up if I do need to run to the podium to beat Seacrest. [Laughs] It’ll be all about aerodynamics."
Much more at the source -- it's a really great interview!