At home with George

After years as a virtual recluse - except one very public indiscretion which put him back on the front pages of newspapers round the world - George Michael is finally letting the public into his life.

The singer, 40, flung wide the doors of the £2 million 16th century house he shares with boyfriend Kenny Goss - at Goring-on-Thames, south Oxfordshire - and gave a guided tour on US TV.

Millions of viewers were shown Michael's piano covered in photographs, a library filled with dusty bound books, the Aga where he confesses to burning his Sunday roast and the pair's "children" - two labradors.

The film tour was part of an interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey. Michael introduced the house: "We are here about an hour from London and this is a 16th-century house which I bought about three years ago and did up myself.

"It is not exactly spacious but it is my dear and beautiful house." The TV crew then filmed him in the cream living room. "It has really low ceilings because people were so short in those days," he said.

"This is about as historic as it gets. We kept all the original beams and even kept the original fireplace. This is my favourite room and I work on the computer from that chair. And this piano is one of my favourite things and it is covered in pictures from my life."

In the next room Michael announced: "This is the library which wasn't here when I bought it. But I think every house should have a library. I would love to tell you that all the books were Shakespeare or Wordsworth but most are antique books which I bought in bulk, and I think are absolutely beautiful. They are kind of furniture rather than cultural."

Michael - who has four other homes - chatted about his life with Goss, who stood by the star when he was arrested for lewd behaviour in a Beverly Hills lavatory.

In the kitchen, he said: "This is an old-fashioned Aga cooker which is an essential part of any old fashioned English kitchen.

"And for people like me and Kenny, who really are extremely absent-minded, it is great, because you can stick something in there like chicken and if you forget about it you aren't going to burn the house down, you just get a lump of coal for dinner."

Michael pointed out his favourite part of the grounds. "We are right on the Thames and I have always wanted to live on the Thames. The house backs on to a 10th-century Saxon church and I have always loved the idea of living by the church," he said.

Next stop was the pool house, which was the size of an average bungalow. "It is really nice to come out here on a summer's evening."

He finished the tour by saying: "So that is my home. And if you are in town soon, Oprah, I would love you to come and visit."