David Mitchell's 'odd' admission about Victoria Coren Mitchell after 'embarrassing' time

David Mitchell has opened up about his "embarrassing" love life, before falling for his wife Victoria Coren Mitchell.The couple, who married in 2012, share two daughters together, Barbara Elizabeth, 10 and June Violet, who turns two next month.

Discussing his romantic struggles before meeting Victoria, the 51-year-old said: "I was very late to proper relationships.

"I didn't really have a significant romantic relationship before I met my wife.

"Considering how many mutual friends we have, it's odd we didn't meet earlier, but I think whenever we met, this was going to happen."

The Peep Show star went on to say his younger self "would be pleased" with how his love life has panned out, adding to The Big Issue: "But I don't think he'd fully understand how important that is.

"He would think of having a family as sort of like having a mortgage."

Having previously felt as though his chance of a successful romance "was zero", David said he found it "desperately embarrassing" to admit that he fancied someone.

"If there was going to be any, I felt it would happen organically by just hanging out," he added.

"But someone has to make the running, and in general, that's not the person you're currently infatuated with."

On what he'd now tell his younger self, David said he'd suggest not hesitating to ask somebody he fancied out for a coffee.

"If you get told, 'No', that's not nice, but it's then done, and you won't live in this absurd aspirational limbo for so long," he added.

"Because that was my experience for years and years."

David met his wife, who presents the show Only Connect, and is also a professional poker player, back in 2007.

In a previous interview, she recalled them being introduced by comedian David Baddiel, who told her she should marry his friend.

According to MSN, she confessed: "He specifically said to me, 'There's David Mitchell over there, I think you should probably marry him, I'll get the ball rolling by introducing you'. I thought that was ridiculous but, a couple of hours later, I thought I would probably marry him."

The couple's relationship didn't get off to the start they were hoping for however, after Victoria decided to break things off after a few dates.

At the time, Victoria was grieving the loss of her father and wasn't in the right place to be dating. Three years later, the pair rekindled and haven't looked back.

Previously reflecting on those few years he waited for Victoria, he wrote in his book titled Back Story: "I waited three years. Isn't that weird? Aren't I odd?

"I can't explain it other than to say I couldn't do anything else. If only I'd known I just had to wait three years... I would gladly have suffered ten times as much."

Meanwhile, David and his co-star Robert Webb return to TV tonight with their new sketch show, Mitchell and Webb Are Not Helping.

The six-part series features collaborations with up-and-coming talents Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Lara Ricote, Stevie Martin, and Krystal Evans, and promises a fresh take on British sketch comedy by blending styles across generations.

Mitchell and Webb Are Not Helping airs tonight at 10pm on Channel 4.