I couldn't be a cameraman or a designer or an actor - I have to be a director because I learned how to do that from my dad.

We busted a lot of family secrets with this. But to make a long story short my parents relationship was built heavily on security issues for my Mom and when my Dad couldn't provide security the relationship unraveled.

One thing my dad always told me was he would make sure I always had what he didn't have. He couldn't play basketball because he didn't have tennis shoes - so I had five pairs of tennis shoes.

My first outdoor cooking memories are full of erratic British summers Dad swearing at a barbecue that he couldn't put together and eventually eating charred sausages feeling brilliant.

I had the opportunity to go to law school and my dad who was an accountant couldn't believe I wanted to walk away from that and start cooking.

I have one brother John an airline pilot who is seven years younger. He's adopted though we're still blood related - he's my cousin. My parents couldn't have any more children after me so when Dad's brother died they adopted John then just a baby.

My dad always said he couldn't remember a time when I did not want to act.

I couldn't walk down any street in Britain without being laughed at. It was a nightmare. My children were devastated because their dad was a figure of ridicule.

My Dad is my hero. He's 85 now and he is in great health. He is handsome and strong. He has an incredible moral and ethical backbone. I couldn't have been luckier with my parents.

What is a normal childhood? We weren't rich we were pretty middle-class. My dad survived from job to job with him taking care of so many relatives he couldn't save any money.