Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Katie Wilson

Celebs at war with neighbours - 'Vandal' Robbie Williams to 'disgusting' Gordon Ramsay

The idea of living next to a celebrity might sound fun – but in reality it can cause all sorts of problems.

Just having millions of pounds in the bank isn’t enough to ensure an easy ride with your neighbours, who must be earning as much as them to live in such wealthy areas.

Robbie Williams has been warring with fellow celebrity neighbour Jimmy Page, of the band Led Zeppelin, for years.

While for This Morning's Holly Willoughby life isn't always so smiley off camera as she is still in an ongoing row with residents over plans to add a huge extension to the side of her house.

And Gordon Ramsay has infuriated locals in Cornwall, where he has a £6 million holiday home, for a whole host of reasons over the years.

Read on to find out which celebs are currently warring with their neighbours and who won the battle in the end...

Robbie Williams

Robbie Wiliams has a famous neighbour who isn't too happy with him (Getty Images)

Robbie Williams has been accused of “environmental vandalism” by his neighbours over plans to take a chainsaw to giant trees in his garden.

The Rock DJ singer - worth an estimated £200 million – lives in London’s posh Holland Park.

For years Robbie has been rowing with his famous neighbour, Led Zeppelin star Jimmy Page, over various plans to renovate his £17.5m Grade II listed mansion.

Robbie is putting in an indoor pool, gym and underground passageway. But Jimmy argued, unsuccessfully, that vibrations could damage ancient paintings and frescoes in his home, where he has lived for 50 years.

Now Robbie has angered neighbours again with new plans to prune 14 plants in his garden he claims are blocking light getting into his home.

One neighbour said: “I think these trees should be left as chopping down healthy trees is an act of environmental vandalism. Shame on anyone wanting to destroy our leafy friends. They give us life - we should respect theirs.”

Robbie’s bid is for a trellis to three sides of the property’s boundary and has yet to be approved by the local council.

Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran has so many houses in Suffolk it's been dubbed 'Sheeranville' (Getty Images)


Ed Sheeran has been buying houses in Suffolk like nobody’s business in a bid to create his own ‘mini-village’.

But the Shape Of You singer has been angering many a local along the way with every new development he makes.

In 2019, he was said to have left neighbours fuming at his wildlife pond as they were convinced it was a plush pool instead.

The star is worth an estimated £300 million, so paying £4 million to reportedly rectify issues with neighbours is like short change for him.

He is now thought to own six properties in what has been dubbed ‘Sheeranville’, including his very own pub.

Holly Willoughby

Holly has faced the wrath of her neighbours over first-floor and basement extensions (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

She hasn’t had the best start to 2023 with the This Morning/Phillip Schofield row – and off-screen Holly Willoughby has had more woes with her neighbours.

The TV presenter lives in a £2.8 million home in southwest London, but since her and husband Dan Baldwin bought it in 2011 she has gone through setbacks with planning applications and disgruntled neighbours.

Holly and Dan have been wanting to add a first-floor side and front extension, window and door alterations and a side dormer roof extension for over a year.

But her neighbours hit back saying there would be disruption to the roads, as well as noise from the building works.

One said: "Having the noise all week all day for so many months is not the standard of living in such an expensive area to live. I do not pay taxes to get this level of disruption, it is not quality of life."

Holly and Dan were previously given permission to build a basement extension and it is thought part of their current planning application has now been granted to build a first-floor extension, but the rest remains unsettled.

Billie Faiers

Billie Faiers had a nightmare trying to build her 'forever home' (Instagram)
Billie finally got the keys to her Essex mansion at the end of 2022 (Instagram)

Reality TV star Billie Faiers got into a bitter war with her neighbours before she even moved into her new £1.4 million Essex mansion.

The former TOWIE and Mummy Diaries star bought the house with husband Greg in January 2020.

They have since transformed the run-down property into a dream five bedroom ‘forever home’. The two-storey renovation with saw them add a gym, games room and huge walk-in wardrobe.

While their back garden looks like something out of Selling Sunset with a swimming pool and loungers.

But noisy building work from renovations reportedly meant Billie was no longer on speaking terms with her neighbours, who also tried to block planning permission applications from the celebrity couple.

After modifying their plans slightly, she eventually moved her family in – including kids Nellie, nine, Arthur, six, and baby Margot – in October 2022.

Explaining getting to this point hadn’t been plain sailing, she told her 2.3 million followers: “Three years in the making and we have finally moved into our new home.

“It sure has been a journey. Highs and lows and ALOT of arguments along the way. I can finally say it was worth it in the end.”

Gordon Ramsay

Gordon Ramsay angered locals by saying he 'loves Cornwall but hates the Cornish' (Getty Images)

Gordon Ramsay has a £6 million second home in Rock, North Cornwall which he recently demolished and rebuilt to add a string of luxury features.

The celebrity chef has added a huge swimming pool, wine cellar and boat house to the bolthole.

But it wasn’t his property that angered locals – rather his attitude towards them in lockdown.

While Brits were urged to stay at home during the Coronavirus pandemic, Gordon – who is worth a reported £200 million - and his family made the 246-mile trip from London to spend lockdown by the sea.

At the time people could be fined for non-essential travel and specifically told not to stay in their second homes.

This led to locals reporting him to the police after he was branded “disgusting” and accused of flouting government rules.

Following further run-ins with locals, Gordon is not a well-liked man down in Cornwall which has led him to hit back saying he “hates the Cornish” in return.

In a chat with Vernon Kay on Radio 2, Gordon recently said: “Trust me I absolutely love Cornwall, it's just the Cornish I can't stand."

The Rooneys

The Rooneys' house turned out to be bigger than expected (Getty Images)

Neighbours of the former Manchester United footballer and his wife were upset when they discovered the couple's home was bigger than they expected.

They were apparently also concerned about how the neighbourhood would be affected once the Rooneys moved in.

One neighbour said at the time: “The development is very nearly complete but it’s a sore thumb on the landscape.

“It’s been a surprise to the local village that Rooney was moving here in the first place and many didn’t know what to think, especially as the land deal was kept quiet.”

The Rooneys finally managed to move into their home just before Christmas in 2021.

Mrs Hinch

Mrs Hinch was forced to move house due to 'privacy issues' (Instagram)

Things got so bad for cleaning influencer Mrs Hinch that she was forced to move out of her home after a huge bust up with neighbours.

The star, whose real name is Sophie Hinchcliffe, revealed her and her family had to leave due to “privacy issues” after they extended their house.

Posting on Instagram, she said she was in tears over the move as she hadn’t wanted to leave but felt forced out.

She wrote: "I was in such a mess because I didn't want to move. I was crying to Jamie, saying 'this is my home.' I didn’t want to lose it. So I promised him I could fix it."

This prompted her to install “weird, tall basketball net looking trees” for increased privacy and a “crazy CCTV system” at the property.

"I really did my best behind the scenes guys but it wasn’t enough in the end. Jamie was right. I was putting plasters over things and from that day I felt like I lost my home and I was in a really, really low place," she added.

"But everything happens for a reason doesn't it. I'm so, so grateful for my life and wouldn't change a thing but a lot goes on behind closed doors, and if only some people knew how much their selfish actions affect others. But they will not win."

* Follow Mirror Celebs on Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook

Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@trinitymirror.com or call us direct 0207 29 33033

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.