Chris Addison has built his career on laughter, as a stand-up comedian, a panellist on shows such as Mock the Week, and as an actor and director.

You perhaps saw him as Ollie, the hapless junior Whitehall adviser in The Thick of It, the political satire created by Armando Iannucci.

Chris has also performed in opera on the stage at Covent Garden – though in a speaking role. He is an opera fan, so his musical choices include Mozart and Rossini but also folk music by Eliza Carthy and a Swedish Christmas song.