Hot Fuzz: Meet Ricki Hall

Do you want a cup of tea, darlin?" beams Ricki Hall as he bounces into Highway Motorcycles. "Sorry I'm a bit late but I was pretending to be dead to see how my cat would react."

As excuses go, this one's a belter.

And the result of this vital experiment?

"He couldn't give a s**t!"

That settled, we sit at a table in the corner of the Wolverhampton garage Ricki's dad literally built from scratch 30 years ago.

"We never had this when I worked here," he laughs, eyeing up the new seating arrangements and drinking green tea out of a Kit Kat mug. "It's all gone a bit posh."

It's not the only thing.

Gone are the days of Ricki working as a mechanic at the Moseley Street garage and sinking a few pints in The Royal London afterwards.

These days, he is the country's leading male model, gracing the pages of only the most prestigious fashion publications.

Officially sporting the most influential haircut and beard around – lads everywhere go into barbershops asking for 'A Ricki' – he's also starred alongside David Beckham in a Super Bowl commercial seen by 108 million people; been in a music video with Jake Gyllenhaal; and fronted campaigns for Diesel, Lyle & Scott and Paul Smith.

Oh, and his girlfriend is Kelly Osbourne. No biggie.

But forget London and LA, it's here in the family garage that he feels at home.

"I was happy here, man," says the 27-year-old, who grew up around the Histons Hill area of Codsall with his dad, John, mum Ann and big brother Adam. "I came here straight after my GCSEs at Codsall High and I was proper happy working with my family and my friends. But it all changed when I was 22.

"My mate who lived in London asked me to come down for a weekend and I remember saving every single penny to make that happen – I'd never been to London before and I was proper excited.

"I went down in the work van, in my overalls and a white vest covered in oil and crap, so I had to go into Topman to buy some new clothes and that's when I was spotted by the scout – they hang around Oxford Street looking for the trendy dudes who go into the shops.

"Back then I had just one arm of tatts, a sort of Mohawk hairstyle and a moustache, I looked quite different to how I do now, but she was like 'you've got an interesting look, have you thought about modelling?'. I thought it was a scam. I totally thought it as a wind-up. I was like 'yeah right, show me some ID'. Anyways, she did and she took me straight to my agency, Nevs, who were like 'yeah, we want to sign you, you have a month to pack up your things and move down to London because we want you in London Fashion Week in four weeks' time'.

"It was madness, man. I rang my mum up and said 'I've got to move to London' and she was like 'Ricki! What are you on about? Is this a joke?'.

"So I got back home and saved all my money and moved down and started work pretty much straight away. It just felt natural being in front of the camera – it worked.

"As a model, you don't really earn any money in the first year, you get a bit here and there, but it's not until you get a campaign that it all takes off. My first campaign was Lyle & Scott and then I got Paul Smith and then I worked with David Beckham on his underwear line for H&M. Man, I was so nervous to meet him – he was so beautiful. He was lovely. I had to be the 'hipster' photographer taking pics of Becks in his pants! How mad is that? It went out during the Super Bowl in America, it was crazy and I was proper starstruck. Thing is, I get easily excited in any situation so I had to proper play it cool in that one."

Starstruck is also the word he uses when he talks about meeting Sharon and Ozzy for the first time. Meeting the parents is a daunting task for any new boyfriend, but when your girlfriend's dad is the Prince of Darkness, known for tearing the heads off live animals, there's an added pressure.

"I met them when Black Sabbath were performing at Hyde Park a few weeks ago," he says. "I was a bit starstruck when I met Kelly's dad to be honest.

"I was watching him perform backstage and it was incredible – it's the closest I have ever felt to being a rock star myself. He was cool, I was like 'hello Mr Osbourne, I'm Ricki' and we just had a chat about tattoos and Wolverhampton and Birmingham.

"They're a cool family – I knew Sharon would bust my balls and she did. Kelly's a cool girl and we're happy. She does her thing, I do mine. I don't want to talk about it too much though but I'm going over to see them in LA soon and it's all good. Me and Ozzy can have a chat about the Wolves and Villa."

But is he ready for all the added pressure being in a celebrity relationship brings? On a recent night out with Kelly and Kate Moss, for example, the paparazzi were whipped into a frenzy and the pictures used around the globe.

"You've just gotta get on with it," Ricki shrugs. "I'm not getting involved in any negative stuff. I don't read any comments on Instagram or anything because I'm just not interested in all that. I like Twitter though, that's more positive. You get the odd d**k, but, on the whole, people are cool there.

"I do feel the attention getting more intense though. I went to the Fox & Anchor last night and people were making a bit of fuss. I don't mind, I like people, man, but it can be weird, especially with what's going on at the moment with Kelly. I'm a sensitive guy so sometimes it feels a bit much, but it's fine.

"I think my agency are going to send me on some media training so I know how to deal with it all because, trust me, I'll definitely end up doing something mad and I don't want it to come out all wrong.

"Me and my mates are always up to something, usually play-fighting half-naked in the street so I'm not exactly this polished media figure yet."

The media training is something that will come in useful if his next masterplan works out: acting. The dream is a Guy Ritchie-esque gangster role.

"Basically, I just want to be Brad Pitt in Snatch!

"Acting's definitely something I want to do. I always liked drama and stuff at school so I'd love it. Although I can only play myself! I'm not exactly a method actor: I can only be 'Ricki from Wolverhampton'.

"But I've got a few bits and bobs lined up, I can't tell you about them yet but it'll be fun, man. 'Bout time we had a Wolverhampton accent on the screen! People never expect me to sound the way I do: they think I'm either going to be this 'alright darlin'' Cockney or some mad Spaniard, they never think I'm gonna sound like this."

And so to The Beard: Ricki's trademark look that's brought him fame, fortune and a million copycat followers.

"There was no big masterplan with the beard," he laughs. "I didn't sit there thinking 'hmm, I'm going to grow a massive beard'. I was just a bit sick of the moustache I used to have and it just sort of happened and people were like 'that suits you, you should go with it'.

"I've got the right look for the right time, I appreciate that, I understand it. It's mad that people now go into the barbers and ask for 'A Ricki' though.

"It is weird when you're walking down the street and you see someone who looks exactly like you but it's nice, it's flattering.

"Although, half the time they don't recognise me! If I see someone wearing one of my shirts, a bit of me wants to go up and be like 'that's me!' but that's not exactly cool is it? Still, if I see anyone and they recognise me, I usually go 'come for a beer man, I've got a spare 15 minutes'. I like people, I'll talk to anyone.

Ricki and Kelly at Black Sabbath's Hyde Park gig - the first time he met Ozzy

"As for the tattoos, I think I've got about 160 now – I counted them all once when I was drunk. I don't get them done in London, most of them are done by my man Zibi Dombek at Zinked in East Park. I like Super Mario and Ralph Wiggum from The Simpsons but my fave is Mr Messy – everyone loves this geezer!

"I got my first one when I was 18, it was a black star on my ankle and I didn't show my mum – I just wore a long dressing gown for about six months. But then I got the cherries on my arm and she was like 'RICKI! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?'. I just had to say 'sorry mum but it's only going to get worse'.

"But both my mum and dad went a bit mad when I had the ones on my face done. I got them done in London and then stayed down there for six months before coming back home. I completely forgot I had them and then my mum saw them and gave me a right telling-off. There were tears in her eyes, man. I suppose your parents will always want you to be pristine and my dad still sometimes asks if I'd be more successful without all the tattoos and I'm like 'no dad! This is my look!'."

Ricki's next modelling job is in Barcelona – "I can't wait to just chill out, see the sights and have some quality time to myself" – and he's undergoing a bit of a makeover.

"I'm in the process of growing my hair long. I want a bit of a change and I'm on a one-month fitness detox – I basically want to see how ripped I can get my abs in a month.

"Boring though isn't it all that? Eating plain chicken with no sauce and drinking juices? It's driving me crazy already. I need a beer! None of this vodka and soda business. Loads of green tea too. Boring.

"Still, it'll be worth it, darlin. Barcelona will be great, then it's off to LA to see Kelly.

"But Wolverhampton and Codsall will always be home – I've been back about five times in the past six weeks.

"It's only 90 minutes away on the train and as soon as I step off the station in Codsall, I feel like I'm home, I can relax and take it easy. Sometimes you've just got to see your mum haven't you?"

Exclusive by Elizabeth Joyce