HAVING your mum see you getting your kit off is the stuff of most young men’s nightmares.

But for Chippendale Kevin Cornell, his mum was instrumental in him making a career out of it.

“My mum made me do it,” laughs Kevin, who’ll be coming to the Cliffs Pavilion, Westcliff, with the rest of the troupe for the iconic male strip act next week.

He explains: “She’d gone to the show a long time ago and really enjoyed it. For some reason she said to me, ‘That’s what you should do’.”

Kevin initially took some convincing, and he says: “I thought she was crazy. I never thought of myself in that way, so she and I had battles over it before I finally auditioned.

“At the audition there were eight-count dance moves I’d never heard of before. They put us through a dance routine and checked our physical appearance as they like to have diverse personalities on stage.”

Kevin says the life of a Chippendale is an exciting one – he gets to travel the world and, of course, have the adulation of hundreds of women screaming his name every night.

“It’s great,” he says. “It’s like a rock star lifestyle. We just flew in from Singapore not too long ago. There are parties all the time. It’s a lot of fun.

“The hardest thing is we’re away from home a lot, so friends and family, and relationships are difficult.”

But having thousands of fans after your body isn’t always a good thing and Kevin has had some hairy experiences.

He says: “One time some women found out which hotel room we were staying in and crawled up the fire escape to the hotel room. They tried to get in. It was crazy.” But there’s one fan Kevin’s always happy to see – his mum. She still comes to the shows and is a hit among the other lads in the troupe.

“She loves it,” says Kevin. “I have parties at my house in Las Vegas. My mum comes down and all the guys are like, ‘Hey’. They all know her.”

So what’s the secret to the show? And why do otherwise sensible women seem to transform into screaming, underwear-hurling harpies when the group step on stage?

Kevin says: “Chippendales is always about the girls. Usually they’re just full of joy. They have such a good time. They love the show, it’s great.”

The Chippendales: Most Wanted!

The Cliffs Pavilion, Station Road, Westcliff Friday, April 15, 8pm.

£20.50-£26.50 01702 351135