Follow the stars: Bill Bailey

Bill Bailey at London Zoo, NW1

Bill Bailey, 48, is a comedian, actor and musician best known for his whimsical gags and hilarious ditties. He lives with his wife Kris, their nine-year-old son Dax and a menagerie of animals in Hammersmith

‘Antarctica makes me think of Christmas. My dream is that one day, hopefully next year, I’ll make it there, but in the meantime the penguins at London Zoo are the next best thing. There’s so much wildlife that I would like to see in Antarctica but I admire the penguin’s character and the fact that the males take fatherhood very seriously.

This Christmas we’ll be under tropical skies in Indonesia, far removed from Antarctica and any penguins. In the past we’ve had big traditional Christmases with the whole works but this year we’re going veggie, hopefully eating cheese and tomato sandwiches on the beach on Christmas Day.

If I were to ask for any animal this Christmas, it would be a cute aardvark. I was much taken by them the last time I visited the zoo; they’re hairy and odd-looking, with Shrek ears, so I feel a sort of affinity with them. But when it comes to receiving presents, our animals at home (we have everything from chameleons to Bali dingos and tamarind monkeys) will be getting more than us. They will be thoroughly spoilt.

I’ve only ever been asked to dress up as Father Christmas once and that was a bad idea because it was in Indonesia and 32C; I nearly passed out. I must have looked very incongruous and probably quite scary as a bearded, red-cloaked man in the jungle, so I won’t be doing that again.’

Bill performs his latest show Qualmpeddler on 18 December at the Hammersmith Apollo (hammersmithapollo.com)