Damian Lewis: The Wolf Hall actor on how Tesco is threatening to 'undermine happiness'

The Belsize Park resident has joined the famous names rallying against the inclusion of the supermarket giant in the affluent area

Constant paparazzi harassment, critical scrutiny and the pressure of keeping the fans off his doorstep are all things that could negatively affect Damian Lewis’s quality of life.

But there’s a new threat on the Homeland actor’s horizon – ominous plans for a Tesco to open in Belsize Park.

Lewis has joined Dame Janet Suzman and over a hundred other residents of Belsize Village to attack plans made by the supermarket giant to launch an Express branch in Haverstock Hill.

Dame Suzman said that the inclusion of a new Tescos represented a “corporate incursion” of the high street and jeopardized the livelihoods of nearby independent shops.

At a public meeting attended by Tesco representatives, she said: “Corporate strength is taking over the individual. It’s about corporate greed. We don’t want the benign boringness of a Tesco.”

She also delivered a message from Lewis, whose new Tudor drama Wolf Hall, a TV adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s award-winning novel, premiered this week.

“Independent shops are vital to the community for diversity and social interaction,” it read. “Neighbourhoods are happier places for them. Yet another Tesco would badly undermine this.”

A spokesperson from Tesco argued that a new Express shop would “act as an anchor to bring more footfall to the high street and the other shops”.

“Our other stores in the area are profitable and popular and there’s no doubt the new store would also be popular and ultimately customers will vote with their feet.”

Other famous names backing the Belsize Park anti-Tesco campaign are Emma Thompson, James Corden and Tom Conti.