Johnny Depp isn't the "great extrovert that people think"

He said in a new interview with Somerset Life about preferring the 19th Century estate and his "cool" British neighbours to hectic showbiz

glamour: "I just love places with character. British people are cool and will greet you as if you are a neighbour - without going over the top.

"I like going to places, seeing things and meeting people - but I'm not the great extrovert that people think.

"In truth, I'm quite a shy person. That's one of the great things about Britain, and especially Somerset. I can just be me - and that's nice.

"I can go into shops without being surrounded by people wanting selfies.

I don't mind that up to a point, but sometimes it gets a little too crowded."

At the time he bought his Somerset pad, Johnny was newly engaged to his now ex-wife Amber Heard, 36, who he married in 2015 before their 2017 divorce and subsequent defamation court battle, which ended last year with a jury finding the actress had defamed her ex-husband in an article claiming she was a domestic abuse victim.

It was reported last month dad-of-two Johnny, who is now said to be single after he was linked to his defamation trial lawyer Joelle Rich, 37, had left America to live in London.

He also owns a sprawling West Hollywood mansion that is a gothic replica of a Bavarian castle - complete with turrets, towers and battlements.

Johnny was said to have been staying with his musician friend Jeff Beck before the guitarist died last month aged 78, before apparently moving between other pals' homes and hotels in London.

Earlier this month, staff at an antiques shop in Lincolnshire were stunned when Johnny paid an unannounced visit to buy guitars - arriving by helicopter at Hemswell Antique Centres in Hemswell Cliff.