‘I love my life in Sicily — my two-bedroom apartment was only £34,200’

A fter nearly a decade of working all over Italy and being seduced by its beauty and culture, I decided to move to Sicily ( says Sandy King, 41) . It began as a kind of lifeline when I was struggling to find work as a jobbing actor in London. After growing up in St Albans, I trained to act at Rose Bruford College in Sidcup and then at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

I was optimistically convinced that my destiny was to star at Shakespeare’s Globe and the National Theatre. The reality, of course, was a lot of unsuccessful auditions for adverts. But in 2010 I was offered the chance to tour Italy in a comedy version of Dracula performed for Italian.