THE MEAN STREETS OF EAST SHEEN

At was the summer of 1977 and the mood was one of celebration. Throughout the land, red, white and blue bunting fluttered in the warm breeze as the people of Great Britain threw street parties to honour the Queen's silver jubilee. The joyous mood intensified when the country was presented with another, very different, reason to put the flags out: Virginia Wade clinched the Women's Singles title at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, in a welcome display of British sporting achievement. The dying days of the Labour government and the winter of discontent were still some way off and, for now, the nation was on a high.

During these summer months, Edward and Elizabeth (née Barrett) Hardy were preparing for the birth of their first – and, in the event, only – child. Elizabeth, who goes by her middle name of Anne, had grown up in the north of England and was descended from a large Irish-Catholic family. Edward – or 'Chips', as he is better known – was born in Ealing, London.

A propensity for the creative arts was present in both parents: Anne is an artist and painter and Chips, having read English Literature at Downing College, Cambridge, from 1969 to 1972, became a successful advertising creative who, in his career, has notched up some award-winning campaigns. In 2006, for example, he was the creative director on the campaign for the health supplement Berocca, which won the Best Fashion, Beauty and Healthcare award in the Campaign Media Awards. Chips is also a successful author and playwright who specialises in comedy writing – he has collaborated on numerous comedy projects and even won a British Comedy Award for his work on The Dave Allen Show. His plays include There's Something in the Fridge That Wants to Kill Me, a black comedy that was staged both in London and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

The entertaining biography of Chips that appears on his literary agent's website gives some clues as to his family history: it declares that 'recent contributions to his gene pool include an Ealing Studio Fire-chief who rounded the horn aged 12'. Delving further back in time, it states that his ancestors apparently include 'river men, pirates, horse-breeders in England and France ...'

On 15 September 1977, Chips and Anne's son, Edward Thomas Hardy, made his entrance into the world. Like his mother, he goes by his middle name – and perhaps by doing so has avoided the confusion that can occur when a father and son share a first name. Though born in Hammersmith, West London, it was in the idyllic surroundings of East Sheen, a quiet and leafy suburb of the city, where Tom grew up. It's an area where schools are good, crime rates are low and there is an abundance of green open space – the perfect place to bring up a child.

The cosy atmosphere of SW14 was something against which Hardy would rail in his adolescence, but in more recent years he has chosen to move back to its comforting surroundings. 'People walk around in chunky sweaters, wearing bright smiles. I did leave once, but I soon came back – it's a state of grace,' he commented when asked about his neighbourhood. 'It feels like such a special and calm place amid the sprawling metropolis of London – a bit like an imaginary village where you'd expect to see Postman Pat.'

Although East Sheen is a far cry from areas of London that you would more readily associate with celebrities, such as affluent Hampstead or funky Primrose Hill, Tom isn't the only star who has chosen to hang his hat there. Back in the nineties, East Sheen was buzzing with excitement at the news that Tom Cruise and former wife Nicole Kidman were to purchase an ivy-clad mansion in the area. (The mansion had, in fact, also once been the home of ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev).

These days, should you choose to sit and sip a latté in one of the local coffee shops, you might encounter 007 himself, Daniel Craig, veteran newscaster Sir Trevor McDonald or the BBC's political bloodhound Andrew Marr, all of whom are residents. 'It's heaven for the middle classes,' adds Tom, 'the duvet of the south west. It's not trendy and cool, but it's still a great place to live.'

Tom's start in life was secure and privileged and he admits that he had, 'all the signs of a middle-class upbringing, where every opportunity was provided for me to do well'. His parents were intelligent, creative folk who recognised the value of a good education and were fortunate enough to have the means to choose private schooling for their son. Rather than a state-funded primary school, Tom attended local prep school, Tower House. Situated close to Richmond Park, Tower House was founded in 1932. It is a small independent boys' school that supports pupils in all areas of their development and places equal importance on both academic and social growth. Like so many private preparatory schools, it prides itself on providing a foundation for pupils whose parents want them to progress to reputable secondary schools via the 13+ exam. Notable fellow Tower House alumni include actor Rory Kinnear and Jamie Rix, successful author and son of actor/producer Brian Rix. More recently, the school has attracted attention thanks to one former pupil in particular: before gaining an unhealthy vampiric pallor and a hordes of teenage fans, Robert Pattinson quietly went about his primary education at Tower House.

From here, Tom progressed through the private education system to boarding school. Reeds School is in the pretty Surrey town of Cobham and boasts every educational facility a pupil could wish for. Its academic standards are amongst the highest in the land and it also prides itself on its sports and drama facilities. High achievers who have passed through its gates include former tennis champion Tim Henman and skier Louise Thomas.

Tom has described his younger self as 'boring', but he maintains he was a child with a vivid imagination and one who loved stories. His lively mind was not always engaged in positive activity, though, and he has confessed that he learned the art of manipulation early on in life. His grandfather apparently recalls that he was a bit of a 'Walter Mitty' character, meaning that he spent much of his time escaping the mundane reality of his own existence by inhabiting a world of fantasy – something Hardy would later indulge in through the medium of acting. Apparently he also developed a keen sense of humour early on, a trait surely inherited from his comedy-writing father.

It didn't take long for the enquiring and imaginative boy to want to shake the foundations of the charmed life he had been born into. 'From a very young age, I was flagrantly disobedient,' he told the Evening...