A Place In The Sun presenter Jean Johansson has opened up about the popular Channel 4 show, admitting that she was worried people would ‘switch off’ over a house decision.
A Place In the Sun presenter Jean Johansson has confessed her fears that dedicated viewers might ‘switch off’ the TV show if it lacked enough drama. The programme features property experts like Jean assisting Brits in their quest for a home away from the dreary UK weather, and many are hard to satisfy when they’re hunting for a property overseas.
However, Jean admitted to the Express that this adds some extra plotlines to the show: “People have opinions on properties, and they’re allowed to have those opinions. It’d be boring if they liked all five properties in every episode – people would switch off.”
Jean continued, revealing that her own family gets emotionally involved in the show and the participants’ property searches. She laughed as she recalled: “And people get upset. My parents were terrible for it. They’d be like, ‘You worked so hard, you flew all that way, and they never bought a property’.”
“I’m like, ‘calm down – it doesn’t work out this time [but] they will go back and they’ll find a property. I’ve helped them for the next time’,” Jean explained. “So I know from my own household that people get invested in whether they buy or not at the end,” she chuckled again.
Jean also compared the programme to a ‘soap’ due to its unpredictable nature of whether couples will find their perfect property or not. And in the programme, things don’t always go as planned, something Jean is all too familiar with, reports the Mirror.
In a dramatic episode of the show that aired in November, viewers watched as a house viewing went south, prompting presenter Jean to confess she was ‘wrong’. On the show, which Jean has hosted since 2018, she was on a mission to help Richard and Rooman find their dream two-bedroom villa in Fuengirola, Spain, with a generous budget of £130,000.
However, things didn’t start well when the first property failed to impress the discerning duo. Jean’s attempt to match the couple’s lively personalities with a centrally located apartment fell flat, especially after Rooman immediately expressed his dislike for the communal swimming pool.
Upon entering the apartment, both Richard and Rooman were quick to voice their disapproval. As the visit spiralled downwards, Jean admitted: “I can put my hands up when I’ve got something wrong.”
It seemed Richard and Rooman were in agreement. They critiqued the apartment, saying it “doesn’t feel like a holiday home” and felt more like a short-term rental. Ultimately, they decided to cut the viewing short and leave.