A Place In The Sun's Scarlette Douglas horrified by 'scary, oppressive and dingy' house - as unusual feature sends a shiver down her spine

Daily Mail​

27-06-2025

A Place In The Sun 's Scarlette Douglas was horrified by a 'scary, oppressive and dingy' house as an unusual feature in it sent a shiver down her spine.
The property expert, 38, known as a presenter on the Channel 4 house hunting series from 2015 to 2022, is about to launch a new house programme.
Can't Sell Must Sell, co-hosted with her brother, retired footballer and fellow developer Stuart Douglas, 47, is set to hit Channel 4 on July 2.
The six episodes see the siblings - known for presenting renovation programme Worst House On The Street - help sell homes their owners are struggling to shift.
With the help of a team of designers and carpenters, they assist guests with getting their houses properly market-ready.
But ahead of the programme's launch in less than a week, Scarlette recalled one particularly unsettling house she worked on during filming.
'One lady was very attached to her house and its Victorian style - she has lots of dolls', she said.
'When you walked in, everything felt oppressive. It was dark, dingy and scary. Even her daughters were trying to get her to sell it. She didn't want to listen.'
It was not the only tricky project Scarlette found herself helping with, having also worked on a quaint cottage that unfortunately stank of dogs.
The presenter explained: 'I love dogs but you can become nose-blind to them.
'One of the properties was a really beautiful cottage but the minute you walked in, it smelled of dog.
'They were so used to the smell that they couldn't get their head around it. Those are things you're not going to see but they affect a sale.'
Stuart recalled fondly how happy the renovation made the guest: 'What made it important for me was how important it was for the owner.
'She was a really lovely lady. The transformation of the house itself was amazing but the transformation in her was memorable. She was so grateful.'
Filming got even more emotional when the siblings visited a widow, whose home was stuffed full, overflowing with memorabilia, particularly china plates.
Scarlette explained how this had happened: 'Her husband did the DIY. She couldn't do anything around the house.
'She was so grateful at the end, I was an emotional wreck.'
The siblings also emphasised that throughout the shoot, no one on set, including them, was afraid to get their hands dirty.
'We're not just walking in, saying our piece and walking out. We really do get involved, even off-camera', she said.
Her brother agreed: 'We had great teams. But we needed lots of hands on deck to complete the transformations.
'Even the cameraman took things to the skip. Everyone chipped in.'
Scarlette added: 'That level of involvement was essential, given the scale of the jobs – and the tight turnaround. It was hard and stressful.
'We started around 8am and wouldn't finish until about 11pm. We cover two houses in a week. But the end result made it all worth it.'
It comes after Scarlette spoke out about what it was really like to work on A Place In The Sun.
Despite travelling to many stunning locations and meeting a range of interesting people, she said working on the show is not always fun.
The presenter told The Express shooting the show is actually 'really hard' and five days of filming is put into creating just one '47-minute show'.
'There's a lot that goes into it. It's hard work,' Scarlette said.
She also revealed two sorely-needed items presenters are banned from wearing: 'You can't wear sunglasses or a hat.'
The property expert admitted: 'You just about have time to drink some water.
'You keep going and going and going, so as much as it looks glamorous, it's actually a really difficult show.'
Can't Sell Must Sell will be available to watch and stream on Channel 4 on July 2.