Patrick Dempsey's wife "laughed" when she heard he had been named People's Sexiest Man Alive.

The 57-year-old actor has been married to Jillian Fink since 1999 and has and has Talula, 21, as well as 16-year-old twins Darby and Sullivan with her but revealed that when the publication unveiled their annual honour earlier this month, she giggled before their kids "tore [him] up" over the new title.

Asked how his wife and kids rected, Patrick told US TV show 'Extra': "She laughed at first. She goes, ‘Really? That's great. Fantastic!’ And then my kids just tore me up, which they should do, so that was fun, and everybody had their own sort of person they would vote for and we had that debate, so that's good. They won't use [it to brag],, but they'll definitely give me a hard time!"

Patrick previously admitted he thought it was a "joke" when he was told he'd be following in the footsteps of the likes of Paul Rudd, Chris Evans, and David Beckham to be named Sexiest Man Alive.

He told People: "I was completely shocked, and then I started laughing, like, this is a joke, right? I’ve always been the bridesmaid! I’d completely forgotten about it and never even contemplated being in this position. So my ego is good.”

The former 'Grey's Anatomy' star previously joked that while he is grateful to have the title at this stage in his life, he knows his kids are just going to "make fun" of him for it.

He said: "I’m glad it’s happening at this point in my life. It’s nice to have the recognition, and certainly, my ego takes a little bump, but it gives me the platform to use it for something positive. But my kids just going to make fun of me and pick on me and figure out every reason why I shouldn’t be. Which is good, they keep me young!"