Ant McPartlin’s ex-wife Lisa Armstrong breaks silence after fire tore through £5million mansion she once shared with ITV presenter
Lisa Armstrong has broken her silence after a fire tore through the £5million mansion that she once shared with her ex-husband Ant McPartlin.
The makeup artist, 46, who is currently renting the West London property out for about £10,000 a month, shared an update to Instagram on Tuesday.
She posted a quote which read: ‘Once the heart gets too heavy with pain, people don’t cry. They just turn silent. Completely silent.’
Alongside the short message she added some praying hand emojis.
Lisa watched in horror as a major fire tore through the £5million mansion in West London on Monday.
Update: Lisa Armstrong, 46, has broken her silence after a fire tore through the £5million mansion that she once shared with her ex-husband Ant McPartlin
Scary: The makeup artist, who is currently renting the West London property out for about £10,000 a month, shared an update to Instagram on Tuesday
Eyewitnesses told MailOnline how she was left badly shaken as an inferno raged at the seven-bedroom home in leafy Chiswick.
Lisa is said to have raced there after receiving a call from former neighbours. She was spotted in the street watching helplessly as 40 firefighters tackled the blaze.
Ms Armstrong told MailOnline that nobody had been injured in the inferno which led to next door neighbours fleeing from their homes.
But residents told how the blaze had claimed the life of a pet cat belonging to a family who are renting the property.
The cat died despite frantic efforts from firefighters to save its life. Neighbours said crews tried to revive the animal with breathing apparatus but efforts were in vain.
There were reports of small explosions coming from the property as windows were blown out by the intense heat after the blaze began shortly before 10am.
One local resident said: ‘Lisa had a phone call from an old neighbour and she rushed out to find the house ablaze. She was in the street outside as the firemen were battling to control the fire.
‘She was clearly horrified to see her house going up in flames. Luckily the family who live there were not at home at the time but their pet cat did not survive. It’s very sad.’
Ex: Lisa watched in horror as a major fire tore through the £5million mansion in West London on Monday. She married Ant in 2006 before they divorced in 2018 (pictured in 2015)
The London Fire Brigade sent six fire engines and 40 firefighters to the blaze in Chiswick
One of the LFB’s 100ft (32m) ladders is used after they received calls about the fire at 9.46am
Ant’s TV partner Declan Donnelly – who lives three doors away – was not at home at the time of the blaze.
Dec lives with his wife Ali Astall, whom he married in 2015, and their two children – Isla, five, and Jack, 13 months.
Ms Armstrong shared the home with Ant, whom she married in 2006, before the couple split in 2018.
She is now renting it out to a family who were not at home when the fire broke out in an upstairs bedroom in the three storey home.
Asked if anyone had been hurt in the blaze, Ms Armstrong, who now lives two streets away, said: ‘Everyone’s OK.’
But she declined to comment further saying: ‘I’m sorry. I’m not going to say anything.’
The family renting the property only moved in a few months ago. The mother of the family is believed to have been on the school run when the fire broke out.
The blaze is thought to have started in Ms Armstrong’s former bedroom at the back of the property on the second floor.
It is believed a nanny and a cleaner were out the house when the fire broke out shortly after 9.45am.
The pair, who are believed to have raised the alarm, were also spotted outside the property as the inferno raged.
A member of staff at Dec’s house said: ‘We smelt the smoke then went out into the back garden where you could see the flames. It looked very dramatic.
Crews from Hammersmith, Richmond, Chiswick and surrounding fire stations are at the scene
The London Fire Brigade sent six fire engines and 40 firefighters to the blaze in Chiswick
Smashed windows at the property in Chiswick, West London
‘It was a big fire. The flames went very fast into the roof. Some of the neighbours had to leave their houses but Declan and his family were not at the house at the time. He has been told about it.
‘He is away working and is not due to come back today. His PA was here and has been trying to find out what has been going on.’
Fabio Justi, who lives next door, said: ‘There were flames coming out of the upstairs window which is right next to our house. There was a lot of smoke.
‘We opened the front door and there was somebody coming up the path who said we should leave.
‘The fire brigade arrived very quickly but we did not go back to the house for three hours when it was safe again. The fire had been brought under control by then.’
Hrinda Johan, 70, lives next door on the other side in a bungalow which is attached to the property. She said: ‘Somebody was banging on the door saying there was a fire.
‘I had to get out for my own safety. I was out in the street and I saw the nanny and the cleaner. The family were not in the house at the time.
‘I was out in the street then I had to sit in my car for a couple of hours as I could not go back home. It was a shocking incident.
‘I have been living here a year and do not know the house belonged to a famous person.’
A Daily Mirror photographer reported that the house was being rented by a family of six, and their nanny first spotted smoke coming from the first floor bedroom.
The only people in the house at the time are thought to have been the nanny and the cleaner – and the blaze is believed to have been electrical, the newspaper reported.
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) sent teams to the scene this morning and used one of their 100ft (32m) ladders after first receiving calls about the blaze at 9.46am.
Crews from Chiswick, Hammersmith, Richmond and surrounding fire stations were at the scene, and the LFB confirmed the cause of the fire was not yet known.
Engineers from Thames Water were also on the scene
Asked if anyone had been hurt in the blaze, Ms Armstrong, who now lives two streets away, said: ‘Everyone’s OK’
An LFB spokesman said: ‘Six fire engines and around 40 firefighters responded to a fire in Chiswick. Crews responded to fire in a house’
One local resident told The Independent: ‘The fire looks pretty serious and definitely not under control. An ambulance passed me as I drove down the road with blue lights and siren on.’
Ant moved into a new £6million property six miles away in Wimbledon with his new wife Anne-Marie Corbett in 2019.
An LFB spokesman said: ‘Six fire engines and around 40 firefighters responded to a fire in Chiswick. Crews responded to fire in a house, and one of the Brigade’s 32 metre ladders was deployed at the incident.
‘The brigade was first called about the fire at 9.46am and the incident was under control by 11.52am. Crews from Chiswick, Hammersmith, Richmond and surrounding fire stations are at the scene. The cause of the fire is under investigation.’
MailOnline has contacted representatives for Ant for comment today.
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