“They were Madonna and Barbra Streisand,” he claims with a laugh. “Both were after it because it’s so secure and secluded, and yet it’s bang in the middle of London.” Lesser men would have been daunted, but Flatley wasn’t deterred. “I did a little deal with the agent,” he says, with a twinkle of his blue eyes. “I told him I was taking it, and gave a bit more money than he was asking for. I’ve been terrified of bumping into either of them ever since.”

Indeed, Flatley decided that the house would be his before he had even stepped inside, beguiled by the grand early Victorian villa’s elegant proportions and ivy-clad facade. At the time, seven years ago, Flatley, now 44, was living in the presidential suite of London’s Lanesborough hotel. After years of touring, he wanted to use some of his hard-earned fortune — likely to be valued at £350m in the forthcoming 2004 Sunday Times Rich List — to buy his first home. After an exhaustive trawl through the mansions of Belgravia, Knightsbridge and Holland Park, he at last found what he was looking for.

Now, having restored the lavish interior, Flatley is selling the property — which comes complete with swimming pool, spa bath and flotation tank — for £12m.

“I’m really sad to be moving on,” he says. “It’s been just what I wanted — the kind of place where I could hang out with my friends from the Irish soccer team or entertain members of the royal family. It’s just the most magical place.”

Situated in the heart of Little Venice, overlooking the sleepy Regent’s Canal, the place is indeed magical. The hustle and bustle of the Edgware Road around the corner seems a distant world once you enter the peaceful streets surrounding Flatley’s Grade II-listed villa.

Built in 1840, it was once home to the actress and society beauty Lillie Langtry. Walled gardens now shield Flatley from the “celebrity tours” that stop at Richard Branson’s nearby houseboat and the properties owned by the actress Jane Seymour, the singers Lulu and Annie Lennox, and Earl Spencer, before reaching the former Riverdance star’s home at precisely 10.30am each day. They also protect his many cars parked around the house, which include a Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph, vintage Jaguar and Bentley Turbo.

Chicago-born Flatley shot to fame when he appeared with his then dance partner Jean Butler during an interval “filler” on the Eurovision stage in 1994, and went on to star in Riverdance and then Lord of the Dance. It has become the world’s highest-grossing dance show, largely because of its phenomenal success in Las Vegas.

“I had become a travelling cash machine, just touring and making money,” says Flatley. “I wanted a home.” Having bought the property, he decided to delegate the rest of the project and, after a long search, enlisted the architect and stylist Peter Inston.

“I had almost given up hope of finding somebody who understood my taste,” recalls Flatley. “When I did find Peter, I had complete confidence in him. I said: ‘I like your suit and I like your briefcase. Now get on with it.’

“I knew enough about life to know that I didn’t know everything, and that moving to a neighbourhood like this, I needed somebody who knew the right way to do things.

“I told Peter I’d be back in 12 months, and wanted to find the table laid for dinner with the candles lit, wine in the glass and flowers in the hall.”

Inston took Flatley at his word, beginning with a complete overhaul of the run-down property — including a new roof and windows — and tailoring the eight-bedroom house to his client’s taste, down to the very last detail.

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