How the boy with no home bought himself a whole village

Sunday Mirror, Jul 11, 2004 by Deirdre O'Brien. Additional research: Abigail Greenaway

Neil Morrissey is known for a few things - Men Behaving Badly, being the voice of Bob The Builder, appearing in those terrible Homebase ads with Leslie Ash, and having a fling with Amanda Holden while she was married to Les Dennis.

But it seems the 42-year-old actor is adding another string to his bow, by becoming lord of the manor of a village in Wales.

Neil has just splashed out the best part of a million quid on Laugharne Castle, which comes with a Georgian house in its grounds. The actor bought the castle for around pounds 750,000 at auction, along with his business partner, Matt Roberts.

But the castle is not the only property in Wales Neil has snapped up. He also owns Brown's Hotel, the village pub that was much frequented by heavy drinking poet Dylan Thomas, a former resident of the castle. He also owns the New Three Mariners, another pub around the corner, Hurst House, a nearby boutique hotel where rooms cost pounds 150 a night, and a house in the village. In fact, Morrissey owns so many properties in the town, some locals are complaining about it becoming 'Morrisseyville' and have started to refer to the actor as the 'Lord of Laugharne'.

It was over 20 years ago, as a young actor, that Neil first visited Wales.

'I've been coming here for years and it's absolutely brilliant,' he says. 'When I was working in Boon, another actor introduced me to Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire. I have loved it ever since those first visits. It's where I unwind - clay-pigeon shooting, fishing and rowing. The countryside is so contrasting with marshes, the coast and the river. I'm always finding new places nobody except the locals have heard about.'

However, since Neil has become the Lord of Laugharne, more and more people are hearing about it.

Recent visitors include Pierce Brosnan, Mick Jagger and Bill Clinton. And some of the locals are not so pleased with the transformations Neil's investments are causing in the village.

Complaining about the New Three Mariners' revamp, one local said, 'It was a traditional old pub with open fires and a pool table. Now it's all chrome with a long bar down the middle. The sort of people who go in there just want to see Neil Morrissey.'

But as far as Neil is concerned, he's found somewhere to call home at last. Neil has a sad past. In 1998, his family suffered a double blow as Neil's brother Stephen, who had battled drugs and alcohol, was found dead. Tragically, Neil and Stephen's father, Larry, died shortly afterwards from a suspected heart attack. So Neil moved his mum, May, 65, to Laugharne, and she now has a new partner, Trevor Edwards, who she met in the bar of the New Three Mariners.

Buying up the town is a lavish display of spending that shows the man famous for playing dopey Tony in Men Behaving Badly is no fool when it comes to finance. But the key to Neil's millions seems to be canny investment. When Men Behaving Badly was at the height of its popularity in the late 90s, Neil was making an estimated pounds 500,000 a year. He is thought to have doubled this with celebrity appearances, those Homebase adverts, and of course voicing Bob The Builder, a smash hit all over the world which also made him a tidy pounds 1 million when the Bob theme tune made Christmas No1 in 2000.

It's not bad for a boy who was put into care at the age of 10 when he was caught going on a burglary spree, and lived in different care and foster homes for the next eight years. 'When you're in care, no one cuddles you,' he once recalled. 'Eventually, you spend so long without cuddles that if someone tries, you spit on them. I became tough, a vicious little git, a fighter,' he admits.

It was only when he was offered a place at drama school when he was 18 that life improved for Neil. When he was just 20, he landed a part in The Bounty, with Anthony Hopkins, and knew his star was in the ascendant when he celebrated his 21st birthday with Mel Gibson. Before long, he was one of the highest earning actors on British TV, and the star of Men Behaving Badly, which he admits was his financial salvation.

'Acting is strange. You get short bursts of work for large amounts of money so you have to be smart. I was in debt, I had to pay it off as I went. Men... saved me.'

So although Neil is still single, with a broken marriage to actress Amanda Noar, and failed romances with Liz Carling and Rachel Weisz, it seems the boy who didn't have a home is now building himself an empire.

Despite their problems, Neil stayed in touch with his mother, and has brought her to live in the town he's made his home.

His mum's fiance Trevor says, 'Laugharne has helped May and Neil make up for lost time. They both love it down here and are putting the sadness of the past behind them. They deserve a bright future.'

WELCOME TO

MORRISSEY VILLE...

Since Neil has bought up the local hot spots, celebs like Mick Jagger, Bill Clinton and Pierce Brosnan have visited. l Brown's Hotel Pub l New Three Mariners Pub l Hurst House Hotel l Laugharne Castle

TOTAL: pounds 2,100,000