Hackett, Candice: 'We're sleep-deprived'

Grant Hackett and Candice Alley have revealed that they are suffering from sleep deprivation.

The Australian swimmer and his popstar wife, who had twins Charlize and Jagger in September, said that they would love to get 23 hours of sleep for their Christmas presents.

"I’d love to get a solid eight hours at the moment, but I could do with 23," Hackett told Woman's Day magazine.

"At the moment, we're getting a few hours of broken sleep a night. I was up at 4.45am every morning during my swimming career, so it's almost like I'm getting back to that again!"

Alley said: "When you get the babies out of their cot in the middle of the night, their faces break into a smile as soon as they recognise you."

Talking about their festive plans, she added: "Christmas has always been our favourite time of the year. Everyone helps out. It's a mixture of my mum's English cooking with my dad's Italian cooking and my pavlova. So it's the biggest lunch ever."

Hackett said: "Now I'll have an excuse over the next few years to go to Toys R Us and buy things that I want to play with. That’s one of the best things - you never grow old!"