Wanted for TV: Property reports from Brits and Thais

PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette has learned that ITV, the oldest and largest commercial television network in the UK, is currently making a prime-time, one-hour documentary about British people who own a property abroad. The program will feature a wide range of experiences from individuals buying or building holiday homes or a permanent residence overseas. It will air on ITV1 early next year.

In preparation for the production, ITV is seeking to speak to as many people as possible with an interesting story to tell. The program makers are looking at a range of scenarios – including damaging weather conditions, building disasters, legal obstacles, or other factors which have adversely affected people buying abroad.

PGTV, the television production arm of the Phuket Gazette, is assisting ITV in identifying people willing to talk about buying, or attempting to buy, property in Thailand, particularly Phuket.

The producers at ITV are aware of the current laws against foreign ownership of land in Thailand and the challenges now facing Phuket’s once-buoyant property market. They would therefore be particularly interested in speaking not only with buyers, but also developers, brokers, lawyers and others with an interest in the local market.

Interested British nationals or local Thais with experiences to share should contact, in the first instance, either Chris Husted, managing editor of the Phuket Gazette, or Khun Niladaa (‘Jib’) Mastanawattanakul, general manager of PGTV.