Baywatch and Knightrider star David Hasselhoff said he was in “deep like” with his new girlfriend, reportedly a Welsh factory worker and part-time model 27 years his junior.

“You know, I don’t know that I’m in love yet but I’m in deep like,” the 58-year-old told the Bild daily in Germany, where he is highly popular and currently promoting a new album.

“It’s a very kind of private time for us and we’ll see what happens. But we’re in deep like... I want one solid partner to share my life with. That would be a dream.”

Reports said that he has been dating Hayley Roberts, 31, for three months, and “The Hoff”, as he is nicknamed, has become a regular visitor at her mother’s home near Swansea. Mr Hasselhoff also spoke of his great affinity for Germany ever since he famously performed his hit song “Looking for Freedom” in front of half a million people in 1989 just weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The Britain’s got talent star has a large and loyal fan base in Germany as a result, with “Looking for Freedom topping the charts for weeks and the album of the same name the country’s top selling record in 1989.

“People come up to me and say, ‘Hi, you’re the man who sang about freedom’,” Mr Hasselhoff told Bild. “So I feel this really special connection.”