Costa del Sol celebs: Antony Worrall Thompson

Antony Worrall Thompson owns a property near Mijas

If you sense that the security guards at the Mercadona supermarket near Mijas are more vigilant than usual, it may have something to do with the fact that celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson owns a finca nearby. Caught earlier this year shoplifting items including cheese and wine from his local Tesco in Henley-on-Thames, Worrall Thompson quickly admitted that it was an action ‘without rhyme and reason’ and issued a grovelling apology.

If such an impulsive act brought the chef a raft of unwanted headlines, another, rather more astutely judged snap decision led him to the Costa del Sol. In an interview with Channel 4’s The Good Life, he says that he originally wanted to buy a property in the south of France or Italy, but after friends brought him and his family to this stunning corner of Spain, he was hooked.

The brilliant lifestyle so associated with the Costa del Sol was enough to convince the former Ready Steady Cook star to buy a property here, and eight years later he still appears to be enjoying himself, visiting six or seven times a year.

When in Spain, Antony Worrall Thompson tends to keep a low profile

When in Spain, Worrall Thompson tends to keep a low profile, enjoying the privacy afforded by the Las Lomas de Mijas mountains that surround his rustic bolthole (which also moonlights as an avocado farm). ‘Wozza’ – as he’s sometimes known – is occasionally spotted out and about in the resorts, but tends to shun the glitzier corners of Puerto Banús and Marbella, preferring to frequent local markets in Fuengirola and traditional tapas bars in and around Mijas as he delves right into authentic Spanish culture.

Currently, Worrall Thompson resides permanently in the UK, but he has been getting more and more involved in the local community when in Spain, getting involved in a charity telethon recently, using his culinary skills to create a special dinner for eight people – and raising €5,000 in the process.

Thus far, he has kept quiet when asked on his plans to open up a restaurant on the Costa del Sol, but we shouldn’t rule it out – his previous gastronomic achievements on TV have always been interspersed with forays into restaurant and pub ownership. So who knows – maybe Marbella will soon be tasting the delicious delights from Casa Worrall Thompson on a more permanent basis in the near future…