The London property where British actress Diana Dors lived during her professional heyday has hit the market for £4.5million.
Dubbed ‘England’s Marilyn Monroe’ thanks to her blonde bombshell image and Hollywood career, Diana scandalised 1950s Britain when tales of her sex parties and infidelity emerged.
She hosted notorious, alcohol and drug-fuelled get-togethers at her various properties – including one in Kent – for A-list celebrities – with the guest list thought to also include gangsters Ronnie and Reggie Kray (who were believed to be old friends of Diana’s).
Her Chelsea double-fronted townhouse on Burnsall Street, located just off the King’s Road, was her home between 1953 and 1968 and offers an abundance of living space over basement, lower ground, ground and two upper levels.
The London property (pictured) where British actress Diana Dors lived during her professional heyday has hit the market for £4.5million
Dubbed ‘England’s Marilyn Monroe’ thanks to her blonde bombshell image and Hollywood career, Diana (pictured) scandalised 1950s Britain when tales of her sex parties and infidelity emerged
She hosted notorious, alcohol and drug-fuelled get-togethers at her various properties – including one in Kent – for A-list celebrities – with the guest list thought to also include gangsters Ronnie and Reggie Kray (who were believed to be old friends of Diana’s). Pictured, the living room at her former home in London
Her Chelsea double-fronted townhouse (pictured) on Burnsall Street, located just off the King’s Road, was her home between 1953 and 1968 and offers an abundance of living space over basement, lower ground, ground and two upper levels
Providing 2,152 sq. ft of living space, the three storey, fully modernised Blue Plaque home of the British-Hollywood actress Diana provides two reception rooms and four spacious bedrooms, all offering access to en suites (pictured)
When living there, Diana (1931-1984) was famous for regularly holding racy parties at her Burnsall Street townhouse, with guests enjoying lavish champagne functions that lasted until dawn.
Providing 2,152 sq. ft of living space, the three storey, fully modernised Blue Plaque home of the British-Hollywood actress Diana provides two reception rooms and four spacious bedrooms, all offering access to en suites, with the ground floor opening onto a patio garden.
The current owners converted the basement to provide an additional fourth bedroom with an en suite and transformed the Victorian property into a light-filled home with modern living spaces and a contemporary feel.
As part of the refurbishment, the ceiling heights were increased on the lower ground and basement floors and two glass floors were added, one in the patio garden and another directly below it on the lower ground floor, allowing light to cascade into the lower floors.
The original staircase, which had sat awkwardly in the middle of the house, was also moved, creating open living spaces on all floors.
The current owners converted the basement to provide an additional fourth bedroom (pictured) with an en suite and transformed the Victorian property into a light-filled home with modern living spaces and a contemporary feel
As part of the refurbishment, the ceiling heights were increased on the lower ground (pictured) and basement floors in the property
THE BRITISH MARILYN MONROE: DIANA DORS AT A GLANCE
Diana Dors was dubbed the UK’s Marilyn Monroe
Born Diana Fluck in 1931, Dors grew up in Wiltshire and loved cinema from an early age, idolising Lana Turner and Veronica Lake.
She was offered a place at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art aged 14 and became its youngest ever student after lying about her age.
After a string of modelling gigs and bit-part film roles, she began netting leading roles in 1949 and by 1951 had been established as a ‘sex symbol’ of the British industry.
She appeared primarily in British comedies until 1956 when she signed a three-film deal with RKO Pictures in Hollywood.
But after her then-husband Dennis Hamilton punched a photographer when the couple were pushed into a swimming pool at a Los Angeles party the press turned on her, and a subsequent divorce from Hamilton saw her contract terminated on a ‘morals clause’.
She returned to Britain and continued her career while enjoying high-profile relationships with stuntman Tommy Yeardye and comedian Richard Dawson.
After another attempt at breaking the US failed, she left Dawson and their sons Mark and Gary and returned to the UK, but her career became restricted to supporting roles, with most coming in the sex comedy boom of the 1970s.
Meanwhile she stayed in the headlines after hosting adult parties.
She married actor Alan Lake in 1968 and they remained together until her death from ovarian cancer in 1984 aged 52, having son Jason in 1969.
The modernised house now provides a large open-plan kitchen and reception room with a glass feature ceiling and guest cloakroom on the lower ground floor, as well as a ground floor double reception room which features a framed print from Dors’ iconic 1953 photoshoot at the house.
The Victorian-era property was extensively renovated by its current owners who purchased the property in March 2018 in a bad state of repair and spent 18 months renovating it to provide a stylish London home.
On February 11 2018, the Blue Plaque to Diana Dors was installed on the outside of the house, unveiled by her son Jason Dors-Lake.
Percy Lendrum, Director of Dexters, said: ‘With its wonderful baby-blue facade and beautiful modern interiors, this elegant townhouse on Burnsall Street was the Chelsea home of British-Hollywood actress Diana Dors during the 1950s and 1960s.
‘Famous for the fantastic celebrity parties held here over two decades, this Chelsea house has been enlarged and modernised and now offers a discerning buyer heritage, character and stylish interiors, a home that is really memorable and adorable, just like Diana Dors herself.’
The original staircase, which had sat awkwardly in the middle of the house, was also moved, creating open living spaces on all floors (pictured)
The Victorian-era property was extensively renovated by its current owners who purchased the property in March 2018 in a bad state of repair and spent 18 months renovating it to provide a stylish London home. Pictured, one of the four bedrooms available
Two glass floors were also added during the makeover, one in the patio garden (pictured) and another directly below it on the lower ground floor, allowing light to cascade into the lower floors
