Chef Tom Kerridge shared what it was like growing up in the same area as Fred and Rose West, whose home became known as the ‘house of horrors’ following their horrific crimes
Tom Kerridge has opened up about growing up in the same area as two of the UK’s most notorious criminals, Fred and Rose West. The chef and his younger brother Sam lived with both parents, before they later separated when he was 11.
While the 52-year-old has since relocated to Marlow, Buckinghamshire, where his Michelin-starred pub The Hand and Flowers is based, his mother and brother still live in his hometown.
“I go back three or four times a year, go back and watch the rugby or watch Gloucester play,” he revealed. While discussing his life and career on the Red Talks podcast, he was also asked about West’s former home in Gloucester.
25 Cromwell Street was dubbed the “house of horrors” due to the murders committed there by Fred and Rose West.
Between the 1960s and 1980s, he murdered multiple young women and girls, with some of the crimes carried out jointly with his wife and others committed by him alone.
Asked by host Red Richardson if he had ever encountered the killer, Tom said: “Well, funnily enough me and my brother used to walk past his house every single day.
“So, next to 25 Cromwell Street is, or was, an art college which, my dad, when he was alive and my mum and dad were together, he was a lecturer there.
“So when we were young kids, we used to go past there every single day.”
Tom also revealed that his brother went to school with Fred’s son. “So, when it all happened my brother was like, ‘I always thought he was weird‘,” he added.
West died by suicide in prison in 1995 before standing trial. His wife was later convicted in 1995 of ten murders and is serving a life sentence.
Meanwhile, in the same podcast, the chef also spoke about life in the spotlight.
He first rose to prominence after his Marlow pub became the first pub in the UK to be awarded two Michelin stars.
This achievement cemented his reputation as one of Britain’s most recognisable chefs and he has since built a wider restaurant group.
Away from business, he also regularly appears on television, including shows such as Great British Menu.
However, Tom said he is not a fan of fame. He revealed: “I’m not into fame, I find it a bit weird, I do find it a bit weird when people know who you are.
“But at the same time it’s part and parcel of being in hospitality. I like being in my own space, in my own pubs and people know who you are, it’s a bit odd when you’re walking around,” he added.
Great British Menu airs tonight at 7pm on BBC Two.
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