David Tennant struggled to say "I love you" to his dying parents because the word was rarely used when he was growing up

During an appearance on his 'David Tennant Does A Podcast With ... ' show with his wife Georgia, the TV star explained: "Even when my parents were dying it was so hard to say I love you. It's quite sad ...

"My mum and dad were very loving. But it was never very expressed. And it was expressed [in] their presence and their actions and their consistency, but not particularly tactile. I don't remember us as a family saying, 'I love you' to each other ...

"I mean, I never doubted for a second that we were adored. No, but it was always understood rather than exhibited. No, that's not true. It was exhibited, but it wasn't stated."

He added: "I found it difficult to say it to them and they didn't really say it back and that's not because we didn't, it's just because it's an upbringing and a way of being and a moment in time and society."

David's mom died in 2007 and his dad passed away in 2016.

The 'Broadchurch' star is dad to Olive, Wilfred, Doris and Birdie with Georgia - who he married in 2011 and he's also adopted her son Ty from a previous relationship.

He went on to insist he has a very different relationship with his own children - revealing the couple express their love for the kids regularly.

David explained: "We do that to our kids all the time, too much, and they do it back. That's not an experience I had growing up."

He previously told Radio Times magazine: "I think parenting is often sentimentalised, and sort of cleaned-up for consumption, and in my own experience being a parent, it's hit and miss, and full of triumphs and disasters.

"Being a dad is one of the most extraordinary and life-affirming things that can ever happen to you."