Nicole Kidman's English home

Dec 7, 2006, 14:00 GMT

Nicole Kidman-UK digs... EPA/SANDRO CAMPARDO EPA

Nicole Kidman has bought a home in England.

The 'Moulin Rouge' actress has splashed out £12 million on a luxury townhouse in West London.

Nicole, 39, is expected to move into the property - which sits behind the exclusive Dorchester Hotel in the upmarket district of Mayfair - next month.

A source told Britain's Daily Express newspaper: "Nicole's staying at the Dorchester because she's filming Philip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' at Shepperton Studios.

"She saw the house was for sale and decided that, as she spends so much time here, it would make sense to have her own place.

"Nicole's neighbours are über-rich Russians and security is tight, which was an added attraction."

It is not known whether Nicole's country singer husband Keith Urban, 39, will be able to carry her over the threshold next month, as he is still undergoing treatment for alcoholism at the Betty Ford Centre, in Palm Springs, California.

Nicole is following in the footsteps of her ex-husband Tom Cruise, who recently forked out a more modest £2.5 million on a six-bedroom cottage in West Sussex, for him, his new wife Katie Holmes and their seven-month-old daughter, Suri.

The cottage, located on a private estate, is just a few miles away from the £2 million property in South London that Tom bought with Nicole when they were still married.

(C) BANG Media International