FICKLE weather is having a sunny effect on the order books of a South Oxfordshire firm.

Crown Pavilions, which makes luxury garden rooms and gazebos, says business is booming because people are fed up with not being able to enjoy their gardens in wet weather.

Former London’s Burning actor and co-founder of the Watlington-based company Luke Dejahang, says orders are up 23 per cent on this time last year.

The 38-year-old, known as Ronnie ‘Hi Ho’ Silver in the popular TV series, said: "The British climate being so unpredictable is brilliant for us as a company.

"Our luxury log cabins and garden rooms allow people to use their outside space all year around and gives them additional living space."

It is 10 years since Mr Dejahang, who also appeared in Grange Hill, swapped acting for carpentry.

His garden rooms, costing from £7,000 to £300,000, have been snapped up by a string of celebrities including Duncan Bannatyne, Gloria Hunniford, Alan Titchmarsh and Bruce Forsyth.

Other high-profile customers include the Duchess of Rutland and Grand Duke of Luxembourgh.

He and business partner Mindaugas Jakutis, have built the firm into a £5m-plus turnover business with 100 staff and a showroom in France.

Each item is built to order by hand by craftsmen and there is a three-month waiting list.

Customers can opt to add-in luxuries such as under-floor heating, double-glazing, saunas, steam rooms, whirl pools, bars, wall-mounted TV’s and surround sound.

One customer requested a cabin modelled on an African safari lodge, while another wanted one with a mezzanine bedroom in the style of a loft conversion.

Mr Dejahang pointed out: "They are not posh sheds, they are houses, albeit on a smaller footprint.

"People are so well-travelled nowadays and many of our clients are looking to incorporate elements of their experiences within the design.

"And, of course, the majority of our buildings have the latest audio visual technology which can be controlled remotely using an iPad."

The other big boost to business has come from corporate orders, as hotels, pubs and spas try to make their businesses less dependent on the weather.

Crown Pavilions sponsors a string of high-profile events such as Badminton and Burleigh Horse Trials and the Southampton Boat Show and will open a new showroom at Tendercare garden centre in Denham in May.

The leap from acting to building garden rooms was not as strange as it seems, Mr Dejahang explained.

He said: "My father is a structural engineer and many others in my family are in the construction trade, from brickies to electricians.

"It’s in the blood."