Doctor Who star Arthur Darvill picks his favourite spot in the universe...and it's in Brum

Sep 18 2011 by Roz Laws, Sunday Mercury

AS one of Doctor Who’s companions, Arthur Darvill has his pick of the universe.

So where is his dream place to live? The paradise planet of Apalapacia, perhaps, or the sub-tropical jungles of Deva Loka?

No. When Arthur finally hangs up his time-travelling hat, he hopes to retire somewhere much closer to home.

Birmingham. Because his secret is out – he’s a BRUMMIE.

“I used to drive down Chantry Road in Moseley, looking at all the huge houses, and think ‘I really want to live here one day’,” says Arthur, who plays Rory Williams in the hit BBC1 sci-fi show.

“That’s where I’d like to settle down. In one of those houses that back on to the private park, which I’d get a key for! That’s really living the dream.

“I’d probably only be able to afford a box in somewhere like Kensington, so I might well come back to Birmingham.

“I have a real love for the city. When I was younger I was desperate to get out, but now I have fallen in love with it again.”

Arthur lives in London with his actress girlfriend Sophie Wu, but he was born in Birmingham 29 years ago and grew up in Newport Road, Balsall Heath, before his family moved to Bournville.

He spent most of his spare time in the MAC in Cannon Hill Park, where his mother Ellie helped run the puppet theatre, or hanging out in rehearsals with UB40.

His father Nigel played Hammond organ for Fine Young Cannibals, Edwin Starr and Ruby Turner.