Lee Child, author of Jack Reacher, pays a visit to this Birmingham restaurant with Aston Villa stars

Jack Reacher has become quite the sensation since it hit cinema screens in 2012.

The film version of Lee Child’s books starring Tom Cruise turned into a Hollywood hit, with the latest adaption coming in the form of an Amazon Prime series with Alan Ritchson in the title role.

James Dover Grant, known by his pen name Lee Child, is one of the most famous writers to come from the West Midlands. He was born in Coventry, and grew up in Handsworth Wood in Birmingham.

Child, who initially worked on ITV shows such as Prime Suspect and Cracker, now lives near New York City, but he was back in the West Midlands last week as he was given an honorary doctorate by Coventry University in recognition of his achievements as a novelist.

Before the ceremony on Thursday (March 30), Child also paid a visit to one of Birmingham’s finest Indian restaurants and a favourite of the rich and famous.

He attended Asha’s Indian on Newhall Street. A huge Villa fan, Child also met with Aston Villa football legends, Andy Blair, Dennis Mortimer and Nigel Spink at the restaurant. The writer has even been known to include the names of some of Villa’s players in his books.

Posting on their Instagram page, a post from Asha’s restaurant, read: “It was an absolute pleasure to welcome Lee Child, the author of Jack Reacher to Asha’s Birmingham yesterday evening!”

“We are very honoured that Lee Child has joined the ever-growing list of celebrities such as Tom Cruise, Steven Gerrard and Ed Sheeran to have visited our multi-award-winning restaurant. We hope that he and his accompanying guests enjoyed their Asha’s experience!”

Why celebs love Asha’s in Brum

Child is the latest celebrity to dine out at Asha’s. Ed Sheeran and Tom Cruise have also dined at the restaurant.

The restaurant, which also has chains in Solihull and Manchester, is no stranger to famous faces, having hosted the likes of The Rolling Stones and Cliff Richard in the past.

In recent years, a number of big names have passed through the doors of the Newhall Street curry house to enjoy some of the best Indian food the city has to offer.

Some of those star names include: all of the members of The Rolling Stones ( in 2017), Cliff Richard, cricketer Mike Gatting, Harry Redknapp, radio presenter Roman Kemp, presenter Jon Snow, Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, singer Michael Bolton (in 2021) as well as boxing rivals Kell Brook and Amir Khan - who unsurprisingly weren’t there at the same time.

But perhaps Asha’s most famous guest was Tom Cruise, who stayed in Birmingham in August 2021, while he was filming the seventh installment of the Mission: Impossible film series.

The Hollywood star enjoyed the delicious Chicken Tikka Masala during his visit to Asha’s, and also stayed at The Grand Hotel during his time in the city.

Asha’s has awon a slew of awards, having previously been named the best Indian restaurant and curry house in the British curry awards, and it’s also been recommended in the Michellin guide numerous times.