Not a lot of people know this but I’m very good at... mime. My kids think I’m the Marcel Marceau of Surrey. When they’re being really annoying, I do this thing where I’m pretending to be in a glass box and can’t hear them.

My best friend is… my wife Christie. She’s the first and last person I see every day, she puts up with my moods and she’s 15 years younger than me, so she has an energy that lights up the house.

My nickname is… Rochey. That’s what some people who know me call me because my real name is Shane Roche. The name Shane Richie came about by accident because someone misspelt it when I was 17 and doing a show in Spain. It got lost in translation but I thought, “I like that – I’m keeping it.”

The bravest thing I’ve ever done is… again when I was 17, I just upped and went to the States to enrol in acting school. I forged all these papers and went to Los Angeles. Everyone was going, “You won’t get away with this,” and I was like, “Watch me.”

My favourite TV show is... Impractical Jokers. It’s about these four lads who have been mates since school just being idiots. Me and my 11 year old, Mackenzie, watch it religiously and laugh our heads off.

My perfect evening is... when the kids are in bed and it’s just me and Christie watching a boxset. We’re currently hooked on Narcos, which is such a brilliant show.

I’d like to say sorry to... Jason Manford and Nick Knowles for my silly outburst the other week [saying they make music for a hobby while he does it for a living]. It was just a gag that backfired.

My first kiss was... with a Spanish girl named Carmen Benitez when I was about nine or 10. She was at the same school as me. I think it was a good kiss and that’s also when my love for Spain began.

My biggest regret is... drinking Jack Daniel’s and going on eBay at the same time, when eBay was pretty new and exciting. I ended up buying a wagon from the Planet Of The Apes movie and the next morning I thought, “Should have gone to bed instead.”

The one thing I’d change about myself is... stopping talking while I’m eating. My wife goes mental about that but it’s a hard habit to break.

The best thing my parents taught me was... My mum instilled in me the idea of being kind to everyone, to try and be a gentleman when you can and to treat everyone the way you want to be treated. That’s something I try and instil in my children as well.

The last time I cried was… watching the film A Dog’s Purpose the other weekend. It’s about a dog that dies and comes back again, and I was sat with my kids and my missus with all of us crying our eyes out. None of us could look at each other because we were in pieces.

The first record I ever bought was… I can remember this girl I really liked buying me The Ballroom Blitz by The Sweet but the first record I bought myself was probably Shang-A-Lang by the Bay City Rollers. The funny thing is, we didn’t have a record player so I’d go around to my friend’s house to listen to them.

It’s not good for my image but I like... superhero pyjamas. I’ve got Iron Man ones, my son has Batman ones and my daughters have Disney princess ones. If it’s winter, we’re all in our ’jamas in front of the telly. My wife? She’s too cool for that – she’s in joggers and one of my T-shirts.

My greatest weakness is... toy hunting on eBay, but I do it without Jack Daniel’s nowadays. I love collecting late 1960s and early 1970s toys as well as old issues of magazines like Disco 45 and TV21 comics.

If I could pass any law I would... make it so anyone can marry anyone they want. It feels like the Dark Ages when there’s even a discussion about it. If you love somebody and you want to commit to that person, then great.

I drive... a big Chrysler Voyager that I can get about eight people in, which you need when you have a big family.

The shop I can’t walk past is… Forbidden Planet. I find myself staring at stuff like Terminator action figures and I’ve got cabinets at home where I keep toys, so I’m always adding to the collection.

The most expensive thing I’ve ever splashed out on is… that Planet Of The Apes wagon. It cost £8,000 and that was more than 20 years ago.

My perfect Sunday is... breakfast in bed, then getting together with the in-laws, my cousins and their kids. We try and do it every Sunday, with someone getting to choose a different restaurant each week.

My favourite place in Britain is... probably Manchester. I love going back there because every time I visit, there’s new restaurants and bars and I love the whole Manchester music scene.

My last holiday was… when myself and the family went to Spain. We’ve got a house up in the mountains near Coin called Casa Moon. Whenever we’re there, we swim in the lakes and it’s away from all the hustle and bustle.

I’m currently reading... Johnny Marr’s autobiography Set The Boy Free. Reading about his adventures with The Smiths and how he reinvented himself afterwards is really interesting.

The best day of my life was… my wedding day. We had a big marquee, all my mates were there and I remember laughing a lot. It rained but nobody cared, my mate Tony Hadley sang, we had a band playing and everybody just had a great time into the early hours of the morning.

If I had half an hour left on Earth I’d… quickly go on eBay and see if I could buy myself a couple more days. 

Shane’s album A Country Soul is out now.