Ghost Patrick Swazye and his wife Lisa Niemi are considering adoption after spending years trying to conceive naturally. The actor is bitterly disappointed he and Niemi – his wife of 31 years – have never been able to have their own kids. Now they are keen to explore other options before they are too old.

Swayze, 53, says, “I think I was born to be a father. I’ve designed the perfect life for kids and I believe I could prepare a child well.” Recently, Swazye was in the news when he hit out at claims he postponed his debut on London’s West End stage because of stage fright. The actor was due to take his bow as Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls on 10 July, but pushed the date back to 24 July (06) after coming down with a throat infection.

The actor is furious at rumours he lied about the illness and insists has no reason to be fearful. He says, “Stage fright? I’ve been doing this since I was born. I was raised and born into musical theatre. Sure fear can be a good thing, but when you spend your life doing this, you find a way to use it, to make it work for you.

“Sick as I was, I’ve not stopped working. I kept coming into rehearsals. I’ve been like Marcel Marceau, learning the choreography and the staging even though I couldn’t speak.”