Actor Ed Westwick is talking about going home to Hertfordshire. ‘I still love it,’ he says happily. ‘I go back to my parents’ house. They cook. I lie on the sofa and watch it all come at me. I was over in June for my birthday. It was a quiet one in the garden, with a barbecue, watching England get kicked out of the World Cup. It was fantastic.’

A typical 23-year-old enjoying the comforts of home – except Westwick is one of the stars of hit US teen drama Gossip Girls, in which he plays bad boy Chuck Bass, on-off lover of lead character Blair Waldorf.

Teenage hearts around the world creaked at the seams when Chuck lets Blair go, lying with the words: ‘It’s just a game,’ before admitting to a friend: ‘I love her and I can’t make her happy.’

‘He’s definitely brooding,’ agrees Westwick. ‘In fact, his nickname is the brooding billionaire. He’s a very wealthy, at times very dangerous, kid trying to find his way in the world.’

At the end of the last season, Bass is left bleeding in an alleyway as his attackers run off with the ring he was going to use to propose to Blair. The odds that Chuck survives are pretty high…

He trained at the National Youth Theatre and appeared in British television series Doctors, Casualty and Afterlife before moving to LA three years ago. Getting involved in Gossip Girls was a no-brainer.

‘I was all for jumping into it. There wasn’t much work in the UK. I was only in LA for a month and I got this show. It’s changed my life.’ He sounds grateful.

Another day, another tall, dark, handsome Brit in Hollywood? Westwick nods at the reference to English actor Robert Pattinson, who plays dashing vampire Edward Cullen in the Twilight films. Both are narrow-eyed, deep-voiced, chisel-jawed and beguilingly pouty – not that we’ve thought about it much.

‘Yup, there seems to be something going on right now,’ he laughs. ‘I can’t figure it out but we’re definitely representing.’

Westwick’s female co-stars, the glossy, gorgeous Leighton Meester and Blake Lively, now appear regularly in the pages of leading fashion magazines, both as themselves and as their characters. With his penchant for flamboyant knitwear, three-piece suits and cravats, Westwick’s character is hot on their heels.

Was Westwick always a fashion buff? ‘I was interested,’ he says. ‘But it was more juvenile. I was into that whole indie rock’n’roll look. But I was 19 then. I’m 23 now.

‘My fashion-consciousness – and self-consciousness – have definitely grown over the course of being on the show,’ he continues. ‘All the exposure and the experience I’ve had of different sides of the industry means I have a better knack of how to put things together. We’ve all been to fashion shows, we’ve worked with designers in different capacities, on fashion shoots. You learn about different looks and colours. I’ve definitely stepped up my game.’

He has – though he admits he’s still most comfortable in T-shirts
(J Lindeberg) and jeans (‘Levi’s 501s,’ he says, enthusiastically. ‘I’ve got three pairs: black, blue and stonewash.’) Leather jackets are also a favourite – he recently got one from Dolce & Gabanna – and he just picked up a new winter coat by Paul Smith. He’s still fairly rock’n’roll, although his character is becoming an inspiration; hence his new love of hip label J Lindeberg.

‘Chuck’s a very stylish dude and I’ve picked up a little of his style. Although there are always days when the paparazzi get you and it’s five in the morning…’

He’s just completed a photoshoot to promote a new venture with Nokia, in which two fans will star alongside him in a short film being shot using
a mobile phone. He sounds excited, running down the list of what he wore like a real fashionista.

‘We did four different looks,’ he says. ‘My favourite one was by Band of Outsiders. It was a grey flannelly wool-type trouser, brown shoes – no socks, of course – white shirt, grey waistcoat. It was chic but smart-casual, great for late summer, early autumn. I’m going to have to go out and grab that one.

‘Then, they wanted an English look so I wore this plaid jacket with dark shirt and pants. I looked like I was going shooting with Prince Charles.’

Another outfit had Westwick again looking quintessentially English in Polo Ralph Lauren.

He has a surprising range of fashion icons: David Beckham, Tom Ford and, once upon a time, Pete Doherty.

‘He looked really good to me when I was 19 but it’s pretty worn out now.’ Unlike Ed Westwick. Admirers: hold on to your heartstrings. This boy is only just beginning.

Ed Westwick is joining Dev Patel and Pamela Anderson as part of the cast for ‘The Commuter’, a short film written and directed by upcoming British talent the McHenry Brothers. The groundbreaking film is being shot on the new Nokia N8 to showcase its HD 720p camera qualities and Ed will be filming in London this Sunday.