Chiswick presenter’s jungle home away from home

It’s usual when designing your décor to take your inspiration from your surroundings which is exactly what Declan Donnelly has done. Only he’s gone one step further creating a tropical rainforest in the basement of his new Chiswick home.

With their boss currently away in the Australian jungle, Dec’s builders are hard at work creating a jungle home away from home in the Grove Park property that has taken almost three years to complete.

The plant room situated in the basement of the three storey six bedroom house will have a special thermostat to keep the heat up.

A friend of Dec’s told The Sun, "Dec has become quite a tropical plant fan in recent years. He got the bug soon after he started presenting I'm A Celebrity.

"By the time he returns from Australia next month the room should be filled with a variety of tropical plants from around the world - including several varieties from Down Under.”
He added, “All he needs now is a treehouse in the back garden and he'll have recreated the whole ITV jungle set at home!”

Dec’s plans to demolish the thirties built house which was on the site before and build a new six bedroom home complete with swimming pool, wine cellar, gymnasium and cinema have been dogged with delays and even caused a feud between him and one of his prospective neighbours.

Two years ago, Grove Park grandmother Joy Barrett announced that she planned to give the TV star 'some stick' when he moves in. She was angry that the site next door to her home was left empty for over seven months and she claims it had become a magnet for drunks and vandals.

November 24, 2009