For centuries the delights of Richmond Green have drawn the rich, the royal and the well-to-do to this picturesque corner of the capital.
A home-from-home for Tudor monarchs, in those days the 12-acre space would have been ringing to the sound of horses’ hooves and jousting knights.
In 1731, the earliest known scores were recorded for the sport of ‘criquett’ in a game between a local side and the Duke of Richmond’s team.
Today, while the setting remains little changed, it’s another pastime that’s pulling in a very different crowd.
In 2020 the first season of the Apple TV+ comedy Ted Lasso was released.
The show follows Lasso, an American college football coach played by Jason Sudeikis, who is hired to manage AFC Richmond, a fictional Premier League side.
Hannah Waddingham plays the London team’s glamorous and vengeful owner, who is desperate for the team to fail, to get back at her cheating ex-husband.
Ted Lasso stars Brendan Hunt, left, and Jason Sudeikis, pictured during filming of the hit series near Paved Court, off Richmond Green
Richmond Green, with its pubs, alleyways and Georgian housing, provides a chocolate-box backdrop for the action in Ted Lasso
On the green, The Prince’s Head pub, which appears in the show as the Crown & Anchor and is Lasso’s local, regularly sees 200 extra visitors a day.
And it’s Richmond Green with its pubs, alleyways and Georgian housing that provides a chocolate-box backdrop for the off-field action.
A hit with viewers – particularly in America – the three series have seen a stream of foreign tourists flock into the borough, posing for pictures and joining walking tours taking in locations that feature in the Emmy award-winning show.
But what emerged last week is that not all the visitors are there solely for the souvenirs and Instagram likes.
Over a two-month period, a string of multi-million-pound homes around Richmond Green have been targeted in carefully-planned burglaries that have seen jewellery, watches and other items worth a total of £2million stolen.
All the properties are located close to one another and include a mansion used in the series as the home of Rebecca Welton, the character played by Waddingham.
Local resident Richard Ashcroft, frontman of the band The Verve, also fell victim to the gang who made off with valuables worth £1million from his home.
While police refuse to be drawn on the ongoing investigation, it is believed a gang of South American ‘burglary tourists’ are behind the raids – so called because they fly in on tourist visas, to target well-heeled areas.
The location of the latest burglaries has led to speculation locally that the success of the Ted Lasso series has thrown a spotlight on the area, while also affording perfect cover for the crooks to carry out surveillance.
All the properties are located close to one another and include a £3.3million mansion used in the series as the home of Rebecca Welton, the character played by Waddingham
The location of the latest burglaries has led to speculation locally that the success of the Ted Lasso series has thrown a spotlight on the area
‘The burglaries are very worrying and people think that it’s because of the programme,’ one elderly resident, whose home overlooks the green, told the Mail.
‘There are times when the area is swamped with visitors. There is now a Ted Lasso tour which brings big groups here. They come to the pub that features in the programme, all standing around with their cameras.
‘This is a residential area so normally you wouldn’t get big groups like that. It’s the perfect cover for a burglar to be hanging around. Anywhere else they would look suspicious.’
Another local added: ‘You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to work out that someone from the gang probably watched the programme at some point. They must have realised the rich pickings to be had from the area.’
The most high-profile of the properties to have been broken into sit close to one another in a corner of Richmond Green.
The first property, an eight-bedroom home, was targeted in early November. The burglars stole a safe containing valuables including jewellery. The traumatised tenants then moved out, according to neighbours.
In early December, would-be raiders escaped empty-handed, leaving a ladder in the garden, after striking at the £3.3million property that features in Ted Lasso as the home of Waddingham’s character.
The homeowner – who also wanted to remain anonymous – told the Mail: ‘It was terrifying. We were at home at the time, it was only 4pm. We could see these shadows in the garden outside the house.
‘It was dark at that point so couldn’t make out what was happening too much. Nothing was stolen, we must have disturbed them. We have CCTV footage which we’ve given to the police.’
That was followed on December 18 by a raid on a third property. This time the burglars escaped with £250,000 in jewellery.
The victim, who asked to remain anonymous, described how her house was ransacked after she briefly left the property to walk her dogs as darkness fell.
The mother-of-three believes the thieves were watching her property before they broke in, ransacking an office and finding a safe hidden in a cupboard.
Using crowbars they wrenched the safe from the floorboards and carried it to the back of a van parked nearby.
Included in the haul were her wedding and engagement rings, watches and family heirlooms.
She said: ‘Our lives have been turned upside down by this. These thieves invaded our home and stole a fortune in jewellery.
Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham, who plays Rebecca Welton, the owner of AFC Richmond football club in the hit series
Take a stroll around Richmond Green and the ‘Lasso Effect’ is everywhere to be seen, writes Tom Rawstorne
Jason Sudeikis and Sarah Niles film on the green. Councillor Chris Varley insists the Apple TV series has had a positive impact on the area. He said: ‘We’re extremely pleased with how Ted Lasso has influenced bringing tourists to Richmond, particularly to the green’
‘The really awful thing is that I think they must have been watching the house before going in. This wasn’t a burglary in the dead of night, it happened during a 90-minute window between 4.30pm and 6pm. It had only just got dark.
‘They must have watched me go out to walk the dogs with the children. My husband came home first and noticed that the back doors had been jemmied open.
‘Then he noticed the office had been ransacked and that the safe had actually been ripped from the floor and stolen. There was a quarter of a million pounds worth of jewellery inside.
‘My wedding and engagement rings, watches, Chanel handbags and a lot of family jewels handed down that were not only priceless but of great sentimental value were all taken.’
She added: ‘The dogs had been acting a little strangely beforehand, they’d been going to the end of the garden as if they could sense something. We think the burglars came in via the neighbour’s garden.
‘Knowing thieves have been traipsing through your home is sickening, the only positive is that none of us – dogs included – was hurt.’
Ten days later and the thieves struck for a fourth time on Richmond Green, this time breaking in to the £8million home of Ashcroft and his wife Kate Radley.
The property was empty and it is understood that items worth up to £1million, including a Patek Philippe watch, were taken. A neighbour called the police when alarms went off but the raiders had gone by the time officers came.
As well as the South-East, in recent years ‘tourist burglars’ have also hit the ‘Golden Triangle’ area of Wilmslow, Alderley Edge and Prestbury, home to multi-millionaires including footballers from Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City.
In 2019 former United keeper Tomasz Kuszczak watched via a security app on his mobile phone as a four-strong gang of Chileans dragged a safe weighing almost 16st into the garden to steal jewellery, diamond earrings, a bracelet and a Gucci watch, all worth around £80,000.
Asked about the Richmond burglaries, Detective Chief Inspector Dan Sullivan of the Metropolitan Police said: ‘Enquiries are ongoing. It is believed that some of the break-ins may be linked.’
He added that police were ‘taking proactive steps to deter offenders and reassure residents’.
That they are concerned is understandable, says local ward councillor Chas Warlow.
‘I think residents generally feel they have not got a fair crack of the whip in terms of the police presence and that there are not enough to respond to any crimes, but particularly these type of crimes,’ he said. ‘They are concerned about the break-ins and put it down to a lack of police presence.’
Fellow councillor Chris Varley told how victims had voiced their worries at a meeting with police.
He said: ‘The people who were burgled said that it was clear to them that their properties were being watched and monitored and the people waited for the right moment to do it.
‘One of the problems the residents had was the apparent lack of joined-up activity. They felt they were not being kept up to date.
‘What became clear is that it’s not just the burglaries on the green. There have been other burglaries which seem to fall into a similar category elsewhere in Richmond.’
Despite this, Mr Varley insists the Apple TV series has had a positive impact on the area.
He said: ‘We’re extremely pleased with how Ted Lasso has influenced bringing tourists to Richmond, particularly to the green and the centre. It is unfortunate one of the houses targeted is one of the locations for the series.
‘It’s possible an international gang has targeted Richmond but we have a lot of people who have big houses and safes and money and jewellery. These gangs will go where the money is.’
Take a stroll around Richmond Green and the ‘Lasso Effect’ is everywhere to be seen.
On the green, The Prince’s Head pub, which appears in the show as the Crown & Anchor and is Lasso’s local, regularly sees 200 extra visitors a day.
Reopening at the weekend after undergoing a major refurbishment, a message on its website makes the most of its new-found fame.
‘We’ll be ready to welcome you with smiles bigger than a football field,’ it states. ‘Come on in for a pint, a bite, or just a chat – whatever you need, we’re here.
‘Let’s make today as warm and wonderful as a Ted Lasso pep talk!’
Nearby is Paved Court, the location for Lasso’s fictional home. The picturesque pedestrian cobblestone street lined with chocolatiers, fashion boutiques, gift shops, cafés and jewellers is also home to The Official Ted Lasso Store where £59.95 replica football shirts sell like hotcakes.
Also up for grabs are Ted Lasso greetings cards, at £3.95 a pop, bear cartoon images of Lasso and Rebecca as well as favourite players like Dani Rojas, Roy Kent and Sam Obisanya.
There are even snow globes featuring the corner of Richmond Green with the pub and its two traditional red telephone boxes.
A staff member in the shop said there had been an influx of visitors from South America, alongside American and Australian tourists.
‘They ask about Dani Rojas, who is a Latin American player, who became a main character in the most recent series,’ she said.
‘At Christmas it was crazy. One tourist from there came in and spent £700. They buy team shirts, scarfs, hats. We can’t wait for the next series.’
Other stores are also cashing in on the show’s success with a number displaying yellow signs bearing the the word ‘Believe’ – Lasso’s motivational mantra in the series.
But while businesses are looking forward to the fourth season of the show, recently given the go-ahead, other residents are understandably less excited, as concerns grow about the police response and the apparent ease with which the burglars were able to target house after house.
‘There has been talk of private security guards and people have been installing cameras,’ said one.
A workman at a nearby house added: ‘Everyone’s getting a bit worried. We put these security gates in some years ago but we’ve been called in to service them. The owner heard about the burglaries and they are making sure they are working properly.’
What chance the victims have of recovering their stolen goods is unclear.
In the past, South American gangs have broken down the stolen jewellery, shipping home valuable stones sewn into the lining of clothing or concealed in other items.
And while the criminals generally target high-value goods, that’s not always the case.
Several years ago one homeowner was bemused to discover the burglars’ approach to his collection of football memorabilia. Of three players’ shirts, only one had been left behind – the England one.
But a Brazilian shirt had been taken, as had a signed Liverpool one bearing the name of Uruguayan star Luis Suarez.
Only later, when police arrested one of the burglars, did the reason for the shirt selection became clear – he was from Chile, and a passionate fan of South American football.