Ben Miller forced to move out of London to secluded cottage with wife and children

Viewers might know him best from Death in Paradise or as part of his former double act, Armstrong and Miller, but Ben Miller is now starring in a brand new television show, Austin, on BBC One, starting on Friday.

The comedy sees Ben star as a children’s author who is on tour in Australia when he discovers he has an adult son who was conceived during an affair.

Other notable names in the cast include Michael Theo (Love on the Spectrum), Sally Phillips, and a cameo from Billie Piper.

Ben Miller, star of Paddington, Death in Paradise and more moved to the Cotswolds with his family

But when Ben, who, like his screen character, is a keen children’s novelist, isn’t working hard on television projects or his books, he can be found at home in the leafy area of the Cotswolds with his wife, Jessica, and their children.

Before the Johnny English actor and his family found happiness in the countryside, they were living in the capital but were faced with a decision to leave.

Why Ben Miller waved goodbye to London living with countryside relocation

In an interview with The Telegraph, the 59-year-old explained that he and his family were forced to leave their home in the capital due to needing to upsize.

“We needed more room because our son, Harrison, who was three, was bouncing off the walls. I mean literally bouncing off the walls,” he began.

Ben Miller and his wife Jessica stand together and put their arms around their daughter, Lana, at film premiere — Ben with his wife Jessica and their daughter, Lana, at the Paddington premiere last year

However, it seems their moving journey wasn’t smooth sailing. As any house hunter will know, looking for something sizable and within a price range in a good location is not always easy.

“We started looking around Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire because I was taken with the idea of joining the Chipping Norton set, but that was before I discovered what house prices were like,” Ben admitted candidly.

“I realised that while my celebrity neighbours would be living on 1,000 acres, I’d be in a shoe box.”

Stock photo showing a road and bridge with Cotswolds houses in the background — The Cotswolds is a gorgeous area popular with royals and celebrities

Ben Miller’s ‘bonkers’ home in Cotswolds

Had the family opted for Chipping Norton, Ben would have had many celebrity neighbours to count from, including Simon Cowell, the Beckhams, Ellen DeGeneres and Jeremy Clarkson.

But after being put off by the high price tags, Ben and his wife, who share one son and a daughter together, decided to look a little further “beyond the commuter belt”.

Ben Miller on day one of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival — Ben Miller, who is starring in a new programme in a new BBC show, Austin this week, moved his family to the countryside away from the capital

It was after he and Jessica had been looking around “slightly depressing housing” when they spotted their dream home in a copy of Country Life magazine, which they ended up buying.

It turns out it was a bit of a passion project for the family. The home, located close to Cirencester, is created from multiple cottages from previous architects who lived there in the mid-20th century.

Recommended videoYou may also likeWATCH: Ben Miller is starring in a new show, Austin, on BBC

“The cottages are all connected on the ground floor so it has an unusual layout, but it suits us to a tee,” said Ben, who shares an older son with his first wife, Belinda Stewart-Wilson.

“I’ve got a teenage son who likes to be at one of the cottages at the end, the two little ones live with us in the middle part, and there’s another cottage to work in at the other end.

“We also have a fake front door. If you open it, there’s a little terrace and steps leading up to the woods. We love how bonkers it is.”