Bill Bailey is an expert at igniting laughter from fans on stage, but what many don't know is that he is a hopeless romantic.

Back in 1987, the comedian met future wife Kristin during one of his stand-up show, where she was running a bar in Edinburgh. Bill, now 59, was instantly enchanted by her "wild spirit" and unique sartorial sense, finding an immediate bond after their first interaction.

In a fond recollection of their first encounter, he said in 2015: "She had a very distinctive style. She had this long brocade coat, and I realised she was a free spirit and did her own thing. We ended up chatting away, and all went to a party, and she put me up on her sofa."

To express his gratitude, Bill gifted Kristin with flowers. However it took more than a bouquet to persuade Kristin to give their romance a shot, and Bill ended up writing her a heartfelt letter every day for a year to prove his commitment.

The champion confessed to The Guardian: "I didn't have a computer for email, phoning wasn't easy. It was very old-fashioned." His persistent, poetic efforts eventually won Kristin, who is a former costume designer.

After a romance that spanned a decade, the couple felt it was time to say "I do", crafting a wedding story that echoed the unique charm of their early relationship. It was amidst their travels in 1998 in Indonesia when they decided to tie the knot on a whim.

Bill nostalgically recalled the moment during a 2009 interview with The Independent, sharing: "We were travelling around Asia and sailed into a place called Banda, with a beautiful lagoon, and a smoking volcano on one side and a Dutch colonial fort, an old church and remains of a little town on the other. We decided to get married there and then."

The couple welcomed their son Dax in 2003. Explaining the meaning behind his unusual name, Bill said: "Contrary to popular belief, Dax is not named after a Star Trek character. The name came from a friend of ours who married an Indonesian man.

"They had a son called Dax and we just always associated it with being in Indonesia and always said, 'If ever we have a child, that'll be in the running'. At the same time, I'd rather lost track of the various Star Trek spin-offs and was completely unaware that Dax was also the name of a character in Deep Space Nine until someone told me."

The family currently reside in a large Victorian house in Hammersmith, London. Bill has lived around west London since he arrived from the West Country in his twenties.