The Channel 4 presenter is carrying out a building project of her own
The Channel 4 presenter is carrying out a building project of her own
Viewers accustomed to seeing TV’s Sara Damergi help househunters find their perfect properties abroad on ‘A Place in the Sun’ might be taken aback by her own construction venture. The Channel 4 show regular for over a decade, Sara has eschewed the typical Mediterranean favourites like Spain’s coastal regions, instead embarking on a development of 55 flats and 14 shops in the conflict-ridden country of Lebanon.
Alongside her brothers Aboudi and Malek, she is completing a project initiated by her Lebanese-born father, Issam, who reclaimed ancestral land for the development but sadly passed away from cancer in May 2022 at the age of 67 before seeing it finished. “We are so proud of him and we want to do this, but it’s been very emotional and incredibly stressful,” shared Sara, aged 45.
While managing the project from a distance, she has contended with an economic crisis and conflict, transforming what was her father’s aspiration into a challenging ordeal at times. With concerns for her brothers and extended family’s well-being in Lebanon, Sara admits: “I’ve worried about them all the time. You constantly have this background hum of fear. ” Nevertheless, she and her siblings are resolute in fulfilling their father’s vision on land that has belonged to their family for generations but became fragmented after the original building fell into disrepair following her great, great grandfather’s death.
She adds: “Dad demolished everything and started again. By the time he died, 80% of the renovation had been completed. Now my brothers and I are finishing it for him as his legacy.”, reports the Mirror.
Even when the project kicked off nine years ago, it was beset with huge challenges. Sara recounts: “In 2019 we were hit by the worst economic crisis since the 1800s, when the Lebanese Lira was worth nothing and the banks took everyone’s money. That was stage one of the stress.
“A year later, the Beirut Port exploded and all the windows in our building were smashed and the shutters all buckled. Then the war started.”
On the eve of the November 27 ceasefire, there was a scramble as people living near the renovation site were told to leave – Sara was worried sick about her family and the building’s safety.
She said: “The night before the ceasefire, residents were told they would be targeting people and buildings where ours was,” she discloses. “Everyone was told to evacuate and there was no way of knowing what was happening.
“I stayed up all night, constantly trying to get on the ground information. I was terrified. You always have that fear in the region anyway, but this was a little too much.”
Fortunately, her loved ones and the property emerged unscathed. She added: “I pray the ceasefire holds now. I also pray for peace for the whole region. It’s been emotional overseeing this project because it was my dad’s dream.”
Her father’s profound love for Lebanon has been a driving force, and she feels that love is shared by many, partly because of the repeated displacements. For months, she hasn’t been able to manage the work in person.
“This year was the first summer we did not go to Lebanon,” she said. “We normally spend the summer there. It was too risky to visit, but we all really missed it.”
She’s looking forward to the possibility of going back once the development is finished next year. She said: “We will rent out the apartments,” she reveals, discussing future plans for the property with uncertainly whether they’ll keep its retail space as 14 individual units or convert it into one large shop. “We need to see what happens to the economy first.”
A thoughtful addition to the project is a water fountain built at the front. “There is no clean drinking water from the taps in Lebanon and you have to buy water. This is a way to give something back. People can fill up their water bottles with clean, fresh water, and we’ve named it after dad. It’s in his honour, and if people want to offer a prayer to him, they can.”
Although Sara does not plan to move to Lebanon permanently with her Swedish husband and their two sons, Oliver and Elliott, she retains a deep affection for the country where she lived briefly as a young child, despite experiencing distressing events even then.
“I was born in London, but when I was a baby, we moved out there,” she reflects, sharing memories of her early years amid the troubled region. “There was a bomb that went off in front of a car and lots of different stressful things going on in that part of the world. It’s a troubled region, sadly, and we had to move back to the UK.”
Yet, she remains hopeful about Lebanon’s future. She adds: “But I hope, one day, Lebanon will return to its heyday when it was amazing.”
Sara touched upon the diversity and hope that characterises her surroundings, reminiscing: “It’s a very tolerant place with a real mix of people. You’ve got the beach and the mountains with many different religions. We hope for those days again – and of course just for peace.”
She contrasted her family’s construction project with those seen on the TV programme ‘A Place in the Sun’, which is set to return on January 2, at the new time of 6pm. Sara reflected on the show’s appeal and relatability, saying, “We have realistic budgets and everyone can live that dream,” and “People love to watch the programme for escapism and I love the fact that our show is something people can do. A Place in the Sun is so accessible for everyone.”
The host also expressed how much she enjoys engaging with participants’ unique journeys: “I love hearing people’s different stories and helping them change their lives forever.”
In the forthcoming series, viewers will meet Jaazzmina and Mark, a couple with dreams of relocating to Spain and starting a wellness retreat with a £100K budget.
Though Sara hinted at challenges along the way with a chuckle: “Without giving too much away, we did hit a few stumbling blocks! ” Looking to the future, Sara voiced optimism about her own overseas renovation concluding by 2025 and mentioned, albeit jokingly through the stress of refurbishments, that all seems to be going to plan: “It’s been stressful doing this renovation but, touch wood, it has turned out all right.”
