Joseph Fiennes moved back to London from Spain so his kids can experience "culture" and "adversity"

He told The Times newspaper: "Within a week of arriving, my wife was mugged, her phone was stolen, my car was taken, the flat we bought went down by 14 per cent and the kids said: 'Dad, what are we doing here? It's raining every day.'

"But it goes back to there being adversity. Yes, I want you to catch the Tube and the bus and understand how to negotiate timetables, the bad weather and a difficult city and the cost of living."

However, Fiennes is adamant living in London is good for his daughters because they have access to so much art and culture - and they are "beginning to love the place".

He added: "The city is ... a colossus of culture. There's theatre. One of my children is studying art GCSE and we go to the National Portrait Gallery, the V A - there's so much.

"So I won't be put off by the high taxes or poo in the river or what I call the crime bikes - the Lime bikes whose riders go around and snatch bags - because I offset all of that against the extraordinary, diverse wonder and culture.

"And my kids are actually the marker for it now, because they're beginning to love the place."

In the interview, the actor went on to reveal he's very strict with his daughters about the use of phones and social media - insisting he doesn't want them to use their phones in their bedrooms and he bans the use of social media after dinner every night.

He added: "I'm probably thought of as a dinosaur. And I don't get any favours at home for being very draconian about it - you don't take it to the bedroom; you don't use it after supper.

"There are absolutely stringent rules. It is a day-to-day battle and very stressful."