My dad bought his dream home on A Place In The Sun - but was rocked by a dreadful shock when he arrived for filming
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A journalist has opened up about her dad's time on A Place In The Sun - and how he was rocked by a dreadful shock when he arrived to film the Channel 4 show.
Neil and Jane appeared on the programme back in February 2023.
The pair, who had been married for three years at the time of filming, headed to Gran Alacant in Spain.
They enlisted help from expert Leah Charles-King to find their dream home for £100k.
The pair told her that they were keen to have two to three bedrooms apartment or townhouse, a roof terrace, a communal pool and walking distance from the beach.
And while they were expecting it to be beautiful blue skies with sunshine, it was actually the complete opposite.
My dad bought his dream home on A Place In The Sun - but was rocked by a dreadful shock when he arrived for filming
Neil and Jane (pictured) appeared on the programme back in February 2023 - and went to look for their dream property in Spain - but they were shocked by the rainy weather
The Daily Star's Kelly Williams said: 'My dad, Neil and stepmum, Jane told the presenter how they'd dreamt of a laid-back Mediterranean lifestyle, where they would join the local tennis club (we've yet to see it) and soak up Spanish life.
'But ironically, the city suffered the worst wind and rain in almost a century as they filmed for the series, with several brollies - and Jane's hair - battling for survival against gale-force gusts.
'Just a few hours away on a plane, the idea was that they could "pop over" for a long weekend of playing golf and sipping Sangria and be back in work on Monday without too much fuss - or cost.'
Despite the awful weather, the two did manage to find a property that they wanted to put an offer in for and now they enjoy family holidays abroad.
Kelly added: 'Fast forward two years and the sun-kissed property in the seaside town of Gran Alacant is like a home from home.
'Just 10 minutes from the airport, the house can now comfortably sleep eight after some recent refurbishment, and boasts a patio and roof terrace and also access to a shared swimming pool.
'A stone's throw from Masa Square, the area is a haven for ex-pat Brits who have upped sticks from the UK in favour of warmer climes - but without sacrificing their home comforts.
'At the square, you can enjoy a full English breakfast (as good as back home) or a roast dinner with all the trimmings.
They enlisted help from expert Leah Charles-King to find their dream home for £100k
'We enjoyed a lovely meal at The Belfry - a British-run pub where the carvery involved having about 15 slow cookers on the go - filled with all the homecooked accompaniments you could ever dream of.
'And of course, cheap pints and "holiday measure" spirits.'
After viewing all the properties that Leah had found, the pair shared that they had fallen in love with property number four, a modern three-bed townhouse.
Speaking about why they wanted the property, Jane said on the show: 'It fits all our needs, all out family's needs, we can be out here with the family.
'What is there to think about?!'
They decided to offer £100,000 first, but explained they wanted to but their 'mark' on it as well.
The owners weren't happy with that and wanted to stick to around the price, but were willing to go down to £106,723.
In the end, they decided to meet in the middle and go with it.
Kelly also explained that they thought that it was 'meant to be' because of the name of the apartment.
She wrote: 'There’s also a feeling that it was meant to be as the previous owner had named the apartment "Casa Jaime.
'The purchase was made possible with the inheritance from Jane's mum Pearl, who affectionately called her "Jai" so the house has been re-named "Casa Jai" in her memory.'
A Place In The Sun airs weekdays on Channel 4 at 4pm and is available to stream on channel4.com.
