The West Midlands boasts some seriously talented exports, from movie stars and musicians to world class football players.
Recently, we’ve had a look at the famous faces - actors, musicians and even politicians - who were raised in and around Birmingham. Now, we’ve decided to take a look at the famous celebrities who grew up in West Heath and Turves Green.
Many famous people grew up in the Birmingham district which is steeped in history. The south Birmingham neighbourhood is adjacent to rural Worcestershire and close to Hopwood, Cofton Hackett and the Lickey Hills.
A number of writers, sportspeople, and musicians as well as other famous faces all come from the area. With this in mind, we’ve taken a look at the most famous people who are from West Heath and Turves Green, including those who were born in the areas, as well as those who have lived there at some point during their lifetime.
Let’s take a look:
1. Mike Skinner - £2.9 million
Skinner is the vocalist and multi-instrumentalist of The Streets. The Streets album Original Pirate Material received widespread critical acclaim, with many reviewers praising the originality and humour of Skinner’s lyrics, and subsequent critics’ polls have placed it among the best albums of the 2000s. A big Blues fan, Skinner grew up in West Heath
2. David Claridge - the man behind Roland Rat
Born in 1953, it has been reported that Claridge lived in the Austin Village as a young child and was a pupil at Turves Green Infants’ School, before moving to a private school, Greenmore College. As an adult he created the character of “Roland Rat”, a puppet which first appeared on the British breakfast television programme, TVam, in April 1983 and went on to save the station from closure. Many series were made for the BBC, Channel 5, Channel 4 and ITV.
3. Ian Lavender
Lavendar, an actor, lived in Harpers Road in West Heath. He is best known for his role as Private Pike in the BBC sitcom Dad’s Army. He lived in West Heath and attended school in Turves Green
4. Dame Barbara Cartland
Dame Barbara Cartland was an English writer, known as the Queen of Romance, who published both contemporary and historical romance novels. Born in Edgbaston, she also grew up in West Heath