Renowned for his focus on the marvels of nature rather than the glamour of the entertainment world, Sir David Attenborough remains a cherished figure in the public eye.

As the esteemed broadcaster and natural historian approaches his centennial birthday on May 8th, he attributes his remarkable longevity to a humble lifestyle spent in his beloved ‘favorite place on Earth.’

For nearly seven decades, Sir David has lived in a modest home in Richmond, South West London, a serene area just a stone’s throw from the River Thames. This house, which he once shared with his late wife Jane and their children, Robert and Susan, has been his sanctuary since the early 1950s.

Richmond, known for its picturesque riverside views, boasts the highest healthy life expectancy in the UK, with men living on average to 82 and women to 86. Sir David’s upcoming birthday serves as further evidence of the town’s health benefits.

Born in the nearby town of Isleworth, Sir David, along with his brother Richard, made Richmond their permanent residence after spending their formative years in Leicester, where their father served as the university’s principal.

Sir David Attenborough, who turns 100 on May 8th, has lived in Richmond – his ‘favourite place on earth’ – since the early fifties, residing in the same house for 75 years

The riverside at Richmond-upon-Thames in South West London, which has become a magnet for the rich and famous…and tourist central, after Apple TV Ted Lasso chose the town to film the hit series in

Following Ted Lasso’s success, it has become a hit tourist destination

A young David Attenborough pictured in the back garden of the house he still lives in shortly after moving in, pictured with his late wife Jane and children Robert and Susan

Richard Attenborough, an acclaimed actor who passed away in 2014 at the age of 90, sold his long-time home, Old Friars on Richmond Green, for £11.5 million two years before his passing.

David, who’s travelled the globe as one of the world’s leading broadcasters on the natural world, has always maintained that nowhere beats the London borough he lives in.

In 2013, he explained why, saying: ‘Partly because I live there, partly because my friends and family are there.

‘London has fine museums, the British Library is one of the greatest library institutions in the world… It’s got everything you want, really.’

‘The climate suits me, and London has the greatest serious music that you can hear any day of the week in the world – you think it’s going to be Vienna or Paris or somewhere, but if you go to Vienna or Paris and say, “Let’s hear some good music”, there isn’t any.’

In the twilight of his life though, his beloved adopted town is changing significantly, with celebrities galore – including Tom Holland and Zendaya, Ben Shepherd and Jamie Dornan – moving in, and tourists swarming the pretty green his late brother once resided next to in pursuit of Ted Lasso photo opportunities. 

Since first airing in 2019, the hit Apple TV show has brought thousands of tourists to the narrow alleyway, Paved Court, just off the green, where US football coach Ted’s flat is situated in the show, as well as the nearby The Prince’s Head pub, which appears as The Crown and Anchor on screen. 

Ted effect: Paved Court, a once anonymous street close to Richmond green is now frequently filled with tourists since Apple TV+ show Ted Lasso began using it as a key location (Pictured: Brendan Hunt, left, Jason Sudeikis, right)

The two-storey Ted Lasso store which has opened on narrow Paved Court in a bid to capitalise on the thousands of TV fans who make a pilgrimage here to spy the show’s locations

Residents were left shocked in January when a jewellers on the narrow thoroughfare was the target of a robbery in broad daylight – three men have since been charged

There’s a colourful two-storey merchandise store now in place, selling replica AFC Richmond shirts and even £9.50 boxes of the shortbread Lasso makes in the show for club owner Rebecca Welton, played by Hannah Waddingham.

However, Paved Court has also experienced the pitfalls of being such a high profile thoroughfare. 

At the end of January, two men were seen smashing the windows of Gregory & Co jewellers, at the top end of the pedestrian passage, with a large hammer in a video that went viral online. Three men have since been charged in relation to the incident. 

The ratio of celebrities to mere mortals living in the borough shifted again recently, when Richard Osman, author of best-selling The Thursday Murder Club series, reportedly snapping up a £8million home there. 

The 55-year-old, whose first novel spawned Steven Spielberg’s 2025 movie starring Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan, has decamped from nearby Chiswick, upgrading to a regal period property on Richmond Hill with wife Ingrid Oliver. 

Tom Holland and Zendaya are also Richmond residents: the pair pictured enjoying a date at Henry VIII’s former home by the Thames, Hampton Court Palace, in the spring of 2023 

The House of Games presenter and best-selling writer, pictured with his wife Ingrid Oliver at the UK premiere for The Thursday Murder Club in 2025, has reportedly recently decamped from nearby Chiswick to an £8million property on Richmond Hill

While perennially popular – Richard E Grant, The Rolling Stones and Sir David Attenborough all discovered this pretty South West London riverside town decades ago, Richmond’s popularity with major stars has ratcheted up a notch in recent years.

House prices in the town average out at nearly £900,000, compared to around £300,000 for the rest of the UK. 

If homes in the likes of Primrose Hill, Holland Park, Chelsea and Hampstead were once London’s most lusted after addresses, it seems the exodus a little further west has begun in earnest.

Across Richmond Park, the 1000-hectare green space once used as a hunting ground for Henry VIII, you’ll find the London home of Spiderman star Tom Holland and fellow A-lister Zendaya. 

The couple, who have dramatically renovated the townhouse they bought for £2.5million back in 2017, have been spotted shopping in Waitrose in nearby New Malden, enjoying long walks with their beloved black miniature schnauzer, Noon, in the royal park close to their luxury property and dining out at posh garden centre, Petersham Nurseries.  

Who else lives there? Richard E. Grant still lives in the Georgian home he shared with his late wife Joan Washington. Sarah Lancashire and TV exec Peter Salmon reside in a luxury development close to the Thames while comedian Rob Brydon has a home in the Strawberry Hill area of Twickenham.

This Morning presenter Ben Shephard and his wife Annie purchased a £3.5million 10-bedroom mansion, a former ecclesiastical residence a stone’s throw from the Thames, last year after selling their previous home in the area. 

And actress Jane Horrocks, most famous for her role as Bubbles in Absolutely Fabulous, is regularly seen shopping on bustling George Street in the town.

Spurs manager Thomas Frank, who used to lead nearby West London club Brentford, is also a resident – and Matt Brittin, the new Director general of the BBC lives up the road in Teddington. 

One local resident recently told the Daily Mail: ‘There are lots of celebrities living in Richmond, but not many of us have spotted Tom and Zendaya yet.

‘Most people don’t bat an eyelid when a famous face strolls through the town – they generally go unnoticed.’