Entertainment
Wardrobe malfunctions and relationships pushed to the limit: What it’s really like on A Place In The Sun
A Place In The Sun is one of the most soothing and wholesome shows around – but there’s a lot more going on behind-the-scenes than you would expect.
The Channel 4 show, which sees house hunters searching for their dream home abroad, has been running for more than 21 years – and just about everything you could imagine has happened.
From wardrobe malfunctions and houses that are left in a state before being filmed, to house hunters whose relationships have been pushed to the limit, the presenters have seen it all.
After all, let’s not forget the house hunter that asked producers to set him up, without even letting his wife know he’d left her…
Ahead of the show returning for a new series with brand new star Lee Juggurnauth, presenters including Danni Menzies opened up to Metro.co.uk about everything you might not know about A Place in the Sun.
Filming takes a lot longer than it seems
On the show, the presenters are seen showing house hunters around a property for about 10 minutes – but it takes a lot longer than that in real life.
It takes about four days to film each episode, with Danni explaining: ‘If you really watch it, you’ll notice that the light changes quite dramatically at different points in the show.
‘I think everyone thinks it’s quite a quick process, when actually we spend about two, three hours at each property for about 10 minutes that everyone sees.’
Presenters have to wear the same clothes all week
For continuity purposes, presenters have to make sure they look the same all week, but when a wardrobe malfunction strikes, it’s pretty catastrophic.
‘We wear the same outfit for four days!’ Danni explained.
‘I think everyone’s had certain wardrobe malfunctions,’ she went on. ‘We were filming on a beach one day and I wore a wrap-around dress. It was so windy, it literally blew straight off me.
‘We spent the whole day driving around looking for a shop that had a needle and thread because I’d already filmed in it so I had to keep wearing the same one.
‘In the end, me and the director sewed me into the dress every morning because it was in Lanzarote – and Lanzarote is very windy!’
Relationships have been pushed to the limit
Disagreements between couples aren’t too uncommon on the show – buying a house abroad is a big step and they want to be sure it’s what they both want.
But things have got awkward on more than one occasion, with Danni recalling: ‘We’ve had a couple who had the biggest barney ever.
‘When we finished filming one day, one of them disappeared and we were like, “Oh my god, we’re not gonna be able to finish the show, where are they?”‘
While the house hunter was eventually found, the crew tried to wrap a day early just in case.
‘I don’t know where [the couple] are at now!’ Danni laughed.
Properties aren’t always left in the cleanest state
While the properties on the show often look immaculate, that’s not always the case when the crew arrives.
Jasmine Harman previously revealed some of the creepiest items left in the properties, including dirty pants and a terrifying statue.
She recalled times when tenants living in the properties ‘haven’t bothered to make the beds or put their dirty pants away, or you might have loads of dishes in the sink.’
The presenter continued: ‘There are other times, when a property’s been left empty for a long time. And I remember seeing one property, it was almost derelict […]
‘It had this old bed in there, an old iron hospital bed type thing with a mattress that was covered in horrible brown [stuff]. Whatever that was, I have no idea! That was pretty terrifying.’
Danni added: ‘That does happen from time to time! You go in and go, “We better go in and clean this up quickly!”‘
She went on to say that agents have sometimes forgotten that the team were coming to film, causing a slight panic of fetching keys.
Covid-19 could change filming in a big way
A Place In The Sun has faced huge uncertainty amid the Covid-19 pandemic, with production having to be shut down at points.
Over the summer, after the first lockdown, they were able to film for an ‘intense’ three or four months, locking in as much as they could.
‘At the moment, we’re taking it day by day. We had a few dates in the diary and then that got pushed back,’ Danni explained, adding that she’s feeling positive about when filming can return.
However, logistically, things have changed a lot.
‘It’s filming at a distance, being really conscious of your masks and all that sort of stuff, and it really does make the whole process a bit more difficult and a bit more time [consuming] but actually, you kind of get used to it quite quickly,’ she said.
‘In terms of where we can go location-wise, it definitely might affect that. For the last time we were out there, we were supposed to be starting on one place in the Monday and we were getting in the car to drive to the next location and then we got a call saying, “Actually, go to the airport, you’re going here instead.
‘So there were some real last-minute changes to where we had to be and I think basically everyone has to be a lot more adaptable and you can’t be precious about where you’re going – you’ve gotta roll with the punches!’
A new series of A Place In The Sun returns April 26 on Channel 4 at 3pm.
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