Wales On Sunday (Cardiff, Wales); 12/12/2004
Byline: By Rachel Mainwaring Wales on Sunday
Spooks star Rupert Penry-Jones has revealed the most important things in his life have happened in a remote cottage in Anglesey.
The gorgeous 34-year-old said his family's Welsh retreat is his lifeblood and there's no way he'd ever consider selling up.
The actor, who is engaged to former Ballykissangel star Dervla Kirwan, said: 'I was conceived at our family home on the island of Anglesey. It was where I first got drunk, had my first cigarette and lost my virginity.
'My daughter Florence, who was born on May 1, was conceived there and I proposed to Dervla on the beach in August. The most important things in my life have happened in and around that house.'
Rupert, son of To The Manor born actress Angela Thorne, was born in London in 1970 but it's Anglesey that he refers to as home.
The cottage, right next to the beach, has been in his family for more than a century and his fondest memories of his childhood take him back to Wales.
'When I was a child, the car journey from London took seven or eight hours. We'd leave in the middle of the night and drive through Snowdonia, which was magical.
'There's a garden at the front of the cottage with steps leading down to the shore. On arriving, the first thing I did, and still do, is run to say 'hello' to the beach.
'The area hasn't changed much since my dad went there as a boy for his holidays. My grandfather, David Penry-Jones, was a vicar in the Welsh non-conformist church.
'When I was young, it did get to the stage when I got a bit bored going there for eight weeks with a tiny brother. I'd desperately try to find friends to play with.
'When I started to drive, at 17, I started to take girlfriends down but dad told me not to take too many because it was a special place and I should keep it for special girls.'
And he said the love of his life Dervla is also a big fan of the Welsh retreat.
He said: 'I met Dervla when we were both in Dangerous Corner by JB Priestley in Leeds three years ago, and the cast came down to the cottage for my birthday.
'One of my best memories is proposing to Dervla on the beach. She loves it there and it's easy to see her family because we can hop on a ferry at Holyhead and it's an hour from Dublin.
'Even if somebody offered us pounds 2m, which is more than it's worth, we wouldn't sell it. About three years ago, my parents sold our family home in London, where we'd lived for 30 years. It didn't upset me at all, but if they sold the cottage I'd have been devastated. Our blood is in that home.'
COPYRIGHT 2004 MGN Ltd.