A Place In The Sun presenter Scarlette Douglas is an expert in landing house hunters the home of their dreams, scouting properties everywhere from Spain to Bulgaria.
Celebrating the show’s 21st anniversary this month, A Place In The Sun has even landed a new primetime Sunday evening slot, inviting British couples to cruise the property market overseas.
Though it is mostly plain-sailing, speaking exclusively to Daily Star, Scarlette, 32, revealed there are occasional hiccups behind-the-scenes.
With five years of experience under her belt, the Channel 4 presenter opened up about the most “frustrating” thing a house hunter can do on the show.
Scarlette’s pet peeve is when house hunters appear on the show under the guise of looking to buy a property – when they’re really just after a freebie holiday.
Scarlette first joined the cast of the show back in 2015 as a presenter (Image: Instagram)
She said: “It can be tricky when… it’s tricky when you can tell the house hunters really aren’t serious and that’s when it gets frustrating because obviously, the whole team have put in a lot of time and effort to try and get them what they’re looking for.”
The property expert added: “People do ask me a lot ‘oh do you get fed up when they don’t put in an offer at the end?’
“My thing is, like I said to you, if you can tell they just came for the free holiday, yes it is frustrating.
“But it’s a lot of money and it’s a big step that the people are going for here and they normally only see the property once.”
Behind the cameras, a team of researchers spends days hunting down ideal properties for the buyers, narrowing down the list of potential apartments and villas from 15 to five.
Scarlette is currently scouting a property of her own in Valencia, on the coast of Spain (Image: Instagram)
Filming over the course of a week, Scarlette meets with the house hunters on a Sunday evening, and they spend the next four days checking out the properties, which can feature everything from coastal views to turquoise pools.
The last day of filming is crunch-time, where prospective buyers meet with Scarlette to decide whether they plan to put an offer down on a sun-soaked home – or to return to the UK empty-handed.
Though it can be disappointing when buyers decide against putting their money on the table, Scarlette is fully aware the house hunters are making a big investment, as she admitted it isn’t always possible to find hopefuls their dream home.
“I do think it’s a really big move,” she said.
Scarlette admitted it can be “frustrating” when house hunters come on the show for the holiday alone (Image: Instagram)
“It depends on the couple but I don’t always get frustrated or annoyed because I think it’s such a big deal to be spending, in some cases, a lot of cash to be buying a house in a country that, yes, you’ve visited on holiday, but is it the right place that you want to spend the rest of your life?
“Or is the place you want to continue coming back to holiday every year for the next however many years?”
The Channel 4 star, whose background is a combination of professional dance and property investing, explained dream houses aren’t always possible to find.
She said: “Sometimes on the show, we manage to find absolute gems and then people hold on to that one episode and they think that we can do that all the time.
The property expert plans to stay on the show for many more years to come (Image: Instagram)
“Sometimes we’re lucky, but that’s not always the case.”
Glamorous as ever, Scarlette does her own makeup and wardrobe on the series, turning up to film each week with bright lipstick and show-stopping outfits.
Having joined as a presenter in 2015, she also presents the spin-off series My Dream Derelict Home in the Sun, which sees run-down properties get scooped up by creative buyers.
While Scarlette is looking forward to expanding her dazzling career in the future – venturing into the music industry and radio work – she also plans to remain on A Place In The Sun for the long-run.
“If I could do the show for 21 years, like it’s been on, I’d happily do it. Because it’s such a feel-good show,” Scarlette confessed.
“For both of my shows I’m away in the sun and if I could do both of them forever, then why not!
“Because I’m working in beautiful weather, in nice locations, different countries.”
Sounds like she’s living the dream!
A Place In The Sun airs on Sundays at 7pm on Channel 4.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
