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There is one very strict rule for would-be homebuyers applying to take part in the long-running Channel 4 show, producer Siobhan O’Gorman has revealed

Siobhan O’Gorman, the TV producer who leads the A Place In The Sun team, has lifted the lid on how the hit Channel 4 show picks would-be house buyers to appear on the series.

She points out that some things have changed a lot since A Place In The Sun first aired 25 years ago: “The first-ever episode 25 years ago featured a couple looking for a holiday home in the French Pyrenees with a budget of £40,000,’ she told the Daily Mail. “That wasn’t a bad budget then, but today you wouldn’t get much for that.”

But other aspects are still very much the same, Siobhan adds: “We need to be sure every applicant is in a position to put in a genuine offer,” she says. “We have great relationships with estate agents all over Europe and beyond, so it’s important to maintain that.”

While something like two-thirds of applicants are hoping for a new home in Spain, many others get in touch with dreams of finding properties in Cyprus, Portugal and Greece.

“But we’re also seeing increased interest in countries such as Croatia, Turkey and Dubai,” Siobhan says.

Wherever they want to end up, applicants start by filling in a 12-page application form. Then Siobhan and the team go through every one, to identify house-hunters who are looking for properties in the areas that align with countries that the show is planning to visit in the coming season.

The next stage is an on-camera interview to assess whether the applicants will make for good TV, and whether their aspirations are realistic.

Competition is intense, Siobhan says: “‘It’s fair to say we have at least ten applications for every show and it’s 20 for some of the more popular resorts.”

Siobhan adds: “We like to reflect a variety of budgets and areas in each country, though, so we wouldn’t do six shows with the same budget and the same wish list in Mijas Costa in Spain, but we may do two shows there with differing budgets.”

All of this behind-the-scenes work helps A Place In The Sun look smooth and well-organised on screen. However, presenter Laura Hamilton, who has been with the show since 2012, describes one incident that she playfully christened “Mudgate” where anything that could go wrong, did go wrong.

As the team were trying to help a would-be expat find a retirement home in Abruzzo, Italy, a massive downpour caused mayhem.

The team were in multiple vehicles for social distancing reasons, and one by one, each one of them become mired down in slippery mud.

“We were there for three hours and had to have tractors pull us out,” Laura recalled. “I’m known for wearing high heels on the show because I’m quite short. I remember having these ridiculously high heels on and they got caked in mud.

“House hunter Sue was “mortified,” Laura recalled, blaming herself for choosing a remote rural location that didn’t even have proper tarmac roads. house. Laura tried to reassure Sue, telling her “It’s not your fault – and I always say you’ve got to love a house come rain or shine,” to which the embarrassed homebuyer replied: “Well, I definitely don’t love this one!”

Trump has repeatedly said he averted a nuclear war, saved millions of lives – and grumbled that he got no credit for it.

Pakistan says it would recommend United States President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, an accolade that he has said he craves.

In May, a surprise announcement by Trump of a ceasefire brought an abrupt end to a four-day conflict between nuclear-armed foes India and Pakistan.

Trump has since repeatedly said that he averted a nuclear war, saved millions of lives and grumbled that he got no credit for it.

Pakistan agrees that US diplomatic intervention ended the fighting, but India says it was a bilateral agreement between the two militaries.

“President Trump demonstrated great strategic foresight and stellar statesmanship through robust diplomatic engagement with both Islamabad and New Delhi, which de-escalated a rapidly deteriorating situation,” Islamabad said in a statement posted on X.

“This intervention stands as a testament to his role as a genuine peacemaker and his commitment to conflict resolution through dialogue.”

Governments can nominate people for the Nobel Peace Prize. There was no immediate response from Washington, DC, or New Delhi.

Some analysts in Pakistan said the move might persuade Trump to think again about potentially joining Israel in striking Iran’s nuclear facilities. Pakistan has condemned Israel’s action as a violation of international law and a threat to regional stability.

In a social media post on Friday, Trump gave a long list of conflicts he said he had resolved, including India and Pakistan and the so-called Abraham Accords in his first term between Israel and some Muslim-majority countries. He added: “I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do.”

Pandering to Trump’s ‘ego’?

Trump has repeatedly said that he is willing to mediate between India and Pakistan over the disputed Kashmir region, their main source of enmity. Islamabad, which has long called for international attention to Kashmir, is delighted.

But his stance has upended US policy in South Asia, which had favoured India as a counterweight to China, and put in question previously close relations between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Pakistan’s move to nominate Trump came in the same week its army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, met the US president for lunch. It was the first time that a Pakistani military leader had been invited to the White House when a civilian government was in place in Islamabad.

Trump’s planned meeting with Modi at the G7 summit in Canada last week did not take place after the US president left early, but the two later spoke by phone, in which Modi said “India does not and will never accept mediation” in its dispute with Pakistan, according to the Indian government.

Mushahid Hussain, a former chair of the Senate Defence Committee in Pakistan’s parliament, suggested nominating Trump for the peace prize was justified.

“Trump is good for Pakistan,” he said. “If this panders to Trump’s ego, so be it. All the European leaders have been sucking up to him big time.”

But the move was not universally applauded in Pakistan, where Trump’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza has inflamed passions.

“Israel’s sugar daddy in Gaza and cheerleader of its attacks on Iran isn’t a candidate for any prize,” said Talat Hussain, a prominent Pakistani television political talk show host, in a post on X.

“And what if he starts to kiss Modi on both cheeks again after a few months?”