‘We always cover the cottage in fairy lights’

GREG WISE Actor Greg Wise on the joy of making his own chocolate and listening to carols with his wife Dame Emma Thompson.

Christmas at home or away? We spend it at our cottage in Scotland, which has a bit of woodland behind it. Every year, we go and cut a 15ft tree down, drag it to our yard and cover it in approximately 3,000 fairy lights – along with practically everything else in the house.

Who’s invited? It’s always the same 10 or 12 people: all the family [including their daughter, Gaia, 21, and son, Tindyebwa, 33] and some friends.

What are your morning rituals? My dear lady wife still gives everyone stockings, filled with daft little things, such as games and chocolates. I’m always up at 5am, but we do them around 10am.

Party suit or pyjamas? I don’t wear pyjamas… but I obviously wear clothes on Christmas Day! In the cottage, everything I have is stained, holed or ancient, so I try to put something on that’s not too dirty.

Who’s cooking? Me and Em do it together, but really she’s the captain of the ship. I just do what I’m told!

What’s your signature dish? Last Christmas, I made fruit and nut chocolate. I picked wild raspberries and blueberries from the garden, and hazelnuts from down by the river, which I roasted. Then I mixed them all with chocolate and put it into small cases. It was delicious. What’s top of your Christmas playlist?

Em loves the Benjamin Britten carols. She plays them a lot because I think her dad used to have them on at Christmas time.

Dream mistletoe kiss? My darling wife, obviously. What’s on your festive TV planner?

We don’t have a telly; we play a lot of games instead. There’s a fun one called ‘Playing Shakespeare’, where you mime a missing word from a Shakespearean quote – not that I’m any good at it.

Best-ever gift? My daughter, Gaia, who arrived on 4 December back in 1999.

Your Strictly wish? To have squeezed all the fun and fascination out of it, despite having absolutely no idea how to do it all!