Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Mr Cameron said his wife, Samantha, was "amazing"

David Cameron has described himself as "optimistic and fun" as he made a pitch to win over women voters.

In an interview with Woman & Home magazine, the prime minister revealed his love of cooking and watching television in his spare time.

And he said he relied on his wife, Samantha, to choose his clothes, as he is not much interested in them.

The PM also praised the "sensible" way his children dealt with their father being prime minister.

'Chillax'

Asked how his friends viewed him, Mr Cameron said: "I hope they'd say I'm optimistic, I enjoy life and that I'm fun. But also that I'm quite driven in doing what I believe in.

"I really profoundly believe in this job and what I'm doing but I try to keep a balance because although this job is a complete passion, at the same time it's my judgment that matters so I've got to keep good balance and pace to make sure I don't get frazzled and fried."

The Conservative leader received a bit of a media bashing in 2012 after extracts from a biography of the prime minister revealed that he liked to "chillax" during weekends at his official country residence, Chequers, by singing karaoke, playing tennis and games on his iPad, and having a few glasses of wine with Sunday lunch.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Mr Cameron said it is one of the most exciting times of the year when the cover comes off the BBQ

In his magazine interview, the PM gave a glimpse into his perfect night in, which he said would ideally be spent at his family home in Oxfordshire, and involve cooking and "watching a good detective drama on TV, or House Of Cards".

On his love of cooking, Mr Cameron said it was a "very good way to get your mind off things" - and singled out his particular fondness of BBQs, describing himself as an "obsessive barbecuer".

'Feeding time at the zoo'

Mr Cameron was full of praise for his wife, Samantha, saying it was true that behind every man there is a great woman.

"I'm very lucky because Samantha is amazing; she truly is the empress of multitasking, and amazing at doing it all, from overseeing the children's homework, having a business life of her own, doing a lot of charity work, and supporting me as prime minister," he said.

And he revealed that it is Samantha who chooses his clothes, saying: "[She] has extremely good taste. And I'm not really interested in clothes; mainly I like wearing clothes that don't make me stand out."

"I tend to go for Marks & Spencer and Gap, and I do get put in the changing room at Gap and clothes are passed to me under the changing room door - a bit like feeding time at the zoo!"

He said his eldest two children "know that daddy is prime minister, which means a lot of stuff in the newspapers, but they seem to channel it quite sensibly". But he said that for his youngest, who is four, "it probably hasn't sunk in... yet".

Asked what he would have done if he had not entered politics, Mr Cameron told the magazine he could have continued his career as a TV executive at Carlton.