Men Behaving Badly star Caroline Quentin has turned her back on home ownership after downsizing from a six-bedroom Devon farmhouse.
The comedy actress, 66, and her husband Sam Farmer, who is 12 years her junior, are renting their latest home after their children – Emily, 26, and William, 23 – moved out, and they have no plans to buy another.
She says of their former property: 'It had a two-acre vegetable garden, a two-acre orchard and a pool. The veg alone was exhausting.
'We've been in Somerset for just over a year, with a more manageable garden. We're really happy. I don't think we'll buy again.'
The star, who is a keen gardener, previously said her sprawling farmhouse and accompanying garden were 'getting a bit too much', so she sought the smaller property.
Men Behaving Badly star Caroline Quentin has turned her back on home ownership after downsizing from a six-bedroom Devon farmhouse with her husband Sam Farmer
She told Gardens Illustrated: 'My big beautiful garden in Devon came with a big house and it was all getting a bit too much for me...
'My husband Sam and I are renting a lovely cottage in Somerset and are looking for a cottage nearby where I can start a new garden and a new gardening adventure.'
In an interview with Saga Magazine, Caroline spoke about selling her possessions.
She said: 'Possessions aren’t important to me any more. I got rid of a lot of things two years ago – I took them to auction and sold them...
'I had quite a big art collection and a lot of jewellery, and I sold it all. Now we live in a rented house and I don’t have much stuff – that was very deliberate.'
Caroline has previously stated that nature had been good for her mental wellbeing.
She said: 'Nature has saved my mental health. My mother was bipolar and I have a volatile emotional life. I get lows sometimes and I get highs as well...
Caroline says that nature has saved her mental health: 'My mother was bipolar and I have a volatile emotional life. I get lows sometimes and I get highs as well...'
The star said: 'The best thing is stepping outside, just listening to birds, being quiet, settling myself, listening to the wind in the trees – my blood pressure drops, my heart slows down'
'The best thing is stepping outside, just listening to birds, being quiet, settling myself, listening to the wind in the trees – my blood pressure drops, my heart slows down.'
Caroline also revealed that she is going back to school and that: 'I recently wrote my first essay in 50 years...
'It was part of my application to study for a postgraduate diploma in the history of art at the Courtauld Institute in London. I've just been accepted.'
Writing for Saga Magazine, she explained: 'I left school at 16 with a couple of O-levels and never went to university or did any higher education. I'm so thrilled to be doing it now.'
Caroline added: 'The kids keep teasing me that I'll be able to get a student discount card and go to the Student Union bar.'