The Jackson Five, and four bedrooms. This could be serious. Which one will end up sleeping on the sofa?

As of yesterday, the first two members of the Jackson Five were settling into the four-bedroom rented house which is, for reasons that remain somewhat unclear, to be their temporary seaside home in Devon. That was Tito Jackson and Jackie Jackson. Younger readers may know them as two of the older, taller Jacksons. Tito played guitar.

“They seemed quite out of place walking along the seafront,” muses one local resident. “It’s not every day you see a celebrity in Appledore.”

It is now. Pretty soon, there will be far more than five Jacksons in Appledore. Already, in this £1,200-a-month holiday home, Tito and Jackie have been joined by their mother Katharine, 78, Jackie’s son Siggy, Tito’s girlfriend Claudia Lynx, and his sons Taj, Taryll and TJ.

“There were some arguments over who was going to have which room,” admitted Matthew Ryan, managing director of North Devon Holiday Homes, who has provided the musical horde with accomodation. The situation is not likely to improve. Other Jacksons are said to be on the way, including Michael, Janet and Jermaine. Remember, even the Jackson Five had another four spare siblings. These days, there are an awful lot of Jacksons. Possibly too many to count.

“There’s a lot of paparazzi and cameras about,” says Mr Ryan, who handed over the keys on Wednesday. “Hopefully that won’t bother them too much. I think they are still tired from the jet lag but they’ll relax into our slow way of life over the next few days.” Excited locals have already provided the family with a hamper of local produce, which includes “a large amount of scrumpy”. Mr Ryan has advised moderation.

Showbiz rumour holds that the Jacksons are using the home as a base while they negotiate to buy a secluded piece of land in nearby Croyde. Here, it is said, they intend to build a huge glass mansion.

This may be true. However, rather more solid rumour holds that the whole thing is part of an hour-long Channel 4 reality television show. The expectation is that Tito Jackson will be resident in the house, while other Jacksons drop by for short breaks.

Tito has been flitting around in Devon for some time. George Warren, an 18-year-old fan from North Devon college, has organised a charity fundraiser party in the Durrant House Hotel, in nearby Northam to welcome the family to England. “I can confirm that myself and some other Jackson family members will be in attendance at this event,” said Tito last month. “We are all very much looking forward to spending time in North Devon. I can’t wait to come back to Barnstaple.”

The Jackson family love affair with Barnstaple may have begun in 2007, when Jermaine spent three weeks as a somewhat bemused contestant in Celebrity Big Brother. He came second, behind Shilpa Shetty, and the resultant exposure sent the Jackson 5 into the pop charts for the first time since 1988, with I Want You Back soaring all the way to number 58. Notions of rural English seclusion may have extra appeal after Michael Jackson’s 2005 trial on child molestation charges, in which he was found not guilty. Thereafter, the singer moved to Bahrain. Reports abound about his debts and his abandoned Neverland ranch outside Los Angeles has narrowly avoided repossession.

That said, allegations emerged out of Martin Bashir’s 2003 ITV documentary Living with Michael Jackson. Further reality television may not appeal. Should he ever arrive, at least Michael might not have to share a bathroom.

The house, which is owned by two couples from Bristol, has four en-suite bathrooms, a large reception hall, landscaped garden, kitchen and, boasts the estate agent, a large LCD television. True, his abandoned ranch Neverland had its own zoo and cinema, but times may be hard.

The village itself may offer limited diversion. In this pretty historical fishing village, where the Taw and Torridge rivers meet, life centres on the quay, which hosts crabbing contests and Morris Dancing. There is also an ice-cream shop.

By last night, alas, the appeal of all this may have already been beginning to pale. The Jackson family were booked into the Fullum Chinese restaurant in Barnstaple, six miles down the road. “They’ve been here several times before,” said Cindy Lee, the owner, “but we’ve never said anything because we always respect their privacy. Every time they are in town they drop in to say hello.”

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