Because I was always a fat child, I got fatter and fatter, and I ended up 18 stone and with a 40-inch waist.

It's properly scary playing a leading man. Growing up, I always wanted to be a character actor.

I'm sure that my father becoming seriously ill when I was 14 had a lot to do with my going from chubby to fat.

By the age of 18, I was very fat. My dad would say there's a Spall fat gene. But I was fat because I ate loads. I used to go and buy six or seven chocolate bars and eat my way through them.

My mum and dad have always enjoyed life, and it's something that's been instilled in me. I wake up in a good mood most mornings.

One of the biggest gifts you can give a child is confidence, because confidence will take you miles - more than talent, more than anything else. So yes, I want my children to have confidence and to be kind.