Marbella Mansions – lights, camera, action!

Up until now, although we’ve been longing to tell you about it for ages, we’ve only been able to drop a few veiled hints, without naming names. But with the first episode of ‘Marbella Mansions’ – a major new TV series from UKTV’s Home channel – airing on 10 September, at last we can reveal all!

Featuring the most exclusive of homes on the Costa del Sol, as well as their owners and the British interior designers, developers and estate agents driving the luxury end of the Coast’s property market, ‘Marbella Mansions’ is a 10-part series of 60-minute shows. It’s been more than a year in the making, and we know, ‘cos we were there too…

It was back in July 2011 – at a time when quite by coincidence VIVA were also collaborating with a Canadian TV crew – that we were first invited to take part in the new primetime series. The brainchild of British independent television production company Splash Media – just some of whose other hit programmes include ‘Fantasy Homes By The Sea’, ‘James Martin’s Mediterranean’ and ‘Piers Morgan on… Marbella’ – at that embryonic stage ‘Marbella Mansions’ was yet to be commissioned.

As a first step, series producer James Capria was about to make a pilot episode. Would VIVA like to be involved and did we have any exclusive but uniquely different properties for sale that would fit the bill? Absolutely! That bit was easy.

The next question, “Would the vendors of those properties be willing to take part, too?” well, that was a bigger ask altogether. But our Vendor Services Team swung into action in their inimitable way and soon we had a shortlist not only of stunning luxury homes, but also some very enthusiastic owners only too happy to oblige!

Two properties were selected, dates were set and not long afterwards James and VIVA Vendor Services Manager, Jacqui Hartley, headed off for a day of filming at a beautiful mansion in Monda – since sold – and a charismatic property in Alozaina which has featured in The Yoga Magazine as “one of the world’s Best Yoga Retreats”.

The pilot clearly did the trick and only a few weeks later ‘Marbella Mansions’ had been formally commissioned by UKTV, a major industry player formed in 1997 as an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Worldwide – the commercial arm of the BBC – and Scripps Networks International.

So, as well as being a welcome shot in the arm for Marbella and the entire Costa del Sol, it was great news for VIVA and the several other companies taking part, and a fantastic opportunity for our vendors’ properties to receive massive TV exposure on the Home channel, which of course has also been responsible for launching phenomenally successful programmes such as ‘DIY SOS’, ‘Escape to the Country’ and ‘Ground Force’…

The actual filming for the series kicked off last autumn and wasn’t wrapped up until May of this year, when the post-production phase started. It’s hard to imagine just how many hours and the miles of footage that are involved in the making of ten 60-minute shows, not to mention how much of it inevitably ends up on the cutting-room floor!

Although the name of the series is ‘Marbella Mansions’, in point of fact the film crew – and our intrepid Jacqui – travelled far and wide. It didn’t take long for James to spot her ‘star’ potential, and consequently wherever Jacqui went in her quest to sign up VIVA vendors with €1m+ dream homes to sell… the Splash Media team were sure to follow. And since VIVA list properties all along the Costa del Sol and deep into the breathtaking Andalusian countryside too, that was a pretty long way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Magnificent residences of every style imaginable, and each possessing that essential wow factor, were filmed in Estepona, Marbella, Mijas Costa, Benalmádena Costa, Valtocado (Mijas) and Casarabonela, and the camera simply loved them… and their friendly, outgoing and engaging owners as well!

All ‘our’ couples have fascinating and unique stories to tell about why they bought the properties they did, what their lives on the Costa del Sol have been like since relocating here, and why they’re now moving on… and they were only too pleased to share their thoughts and experiences with the millions of viewers who’ll be watching the ‘Marbella Mansions’ series.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New and exclusive to the Home channel, ‘Marbella Mansions’ is on Mondays to Fridays at 10pm from 10 to 21 September, on Sky channel 246 and Virgin channel 265. Information and style tips from the series will be available online at www.lovehome.co.uk.

 

And make sure to watch out for Episodes 3 & 8 – on Wednesday 12/09 and Wednesday 19/09 respectively – ‘starring’ VIVA vendors, their stunning properties… and of course our Jacqui. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This blog post has been extracted from an article first appearing in VIVA’s HOT Properties Magazine, Edition No. 94, published in August 2012. The story continues, so watch this space…!