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When Greg and Reda Paul signed up to appear on TV's A Place In The Sun they believed they would soon be enjoying poolside cocktails at their own Spanish finca.
Little did they imagine that, more than four years later, not only would they not have a base near the Costa Blanca, they wouldn't have a home anywhere.
The middle-aged married couple sold their Peterborough bungalow to fund the move but were quickly caught up in Spain's Kafkaesque house buying bureaucracy.
Buying a home and a new life abroad has been held up time and time again with a series of setbacks and they are still effectively homeless - and unlikely to finally move in to their new place for another year.
In the meantime they are living apart having both moved back in with their parents.
So just what happened? 'It's been a disaster,' Greg told the Daily Mail this week.
During the show, viewers saw them fall in love with a rural three-bed villa in Ontinyent, around 40 miles inland from Benidorm on Spain's Costa Blanca, and agree on a £83,750 price tag.
But once the cameras turned off, their dream quickly turned into a nightmare.
'Things went downhill soon after,' Greg said. 'We had a solicitor check that a half-built pool in the grounds was legal and were told the whole house was built on industrial land where it shouldn't have been.
'It meant the council could build a road right through our living room if they wanted to.
'You hear these horror stories about houses in Spain being built illegally - we asked one of the show's producers what to do if our home had been built illegally and they told us often you get a one-off fine and it's done but we didn't want to take the risk.'
Instead, the crestfallen couple backed out of the sale and flew back to the UK to start their search from scratch.
They originally decided to move to Spain to enjoy a year-round outdoor lifestyle.
They qualify to live in Spain as Reda is originally from Lithuania within the EU and were searching for a three-bed rural home on one level where they can grow old with dog Bernard and cat Poirot.
After two more visits, they went out a third time in January 2022 to view a property they'd originally seen online in Biar, a village 20 minutes southeast of Alicante.
They agreed a £112,000 fee with the vendor - paying almost £80,000 as a deposit while they completed legal requirements that would allow them to move in.
Greg, 52, said: 'The pictures online looked beautiful so we went to see it and just fell in love.
'But we're still in the process of buying it nearly four years later because it's on rural protected land.
'We just can't believe this has happened again. Everybody is frustrated, the estate agent and solicitor haven't been paid yet.
'We are trying to get a pool and outbuilding legalised as they were built after the main house and we can't move in until that goes through.
'We've sent all of our belongings over but there's no electricity because it's off grid, we need to install solar panels but we can't do that because it's not legalised
'Then we found out that the rules have changed and a septic tank needs to be installed.
'The bureaucracy is unbelievable - everything just takes so long and we can't do anything.
'We have considered pulling out altogether and buying a place in the UK because of the frustration but it's our dream to live in Spain, the way of life seems so relaxed.
![Reda, 43 (pictured left) and Greg, 52 (pictured right) told the Daily Mail that 'things went downhill soon after [the show]'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/10/17/19/103087949-15202243-image-m-7_1760726068346.jpg)
'I've had to learn to be patient.'
Greg, a therapist, and conveyancer Reda, 43, emphasised they don't blame its producers for their current predicament but lifted the lid on their chaotic filming schedule.
Even though the episode aired in January 2023, it was filmed 18 months earlier in July 2021. After applying, they underwent three interviews with producers before they were selected.
He revealed at least one home they were due to visit was sold in the two weeks between researchers scouting it out and the filming so had to be hastily replaced with another house, even though it didn't meet their requirements.
He said: 'Filming was intense. One day we were picked up 7am and didn't get back until 10.30pm.
'We were flown out to Spain on Sunday morning, met the presenter and crew that afternoon then on Monday morning we started filming with the presenter on the beach - we saw one property in the afternoon then, two on Tuesday, and the final two on Wednesday.
'On Thursday morning we have a chance to review a property we liked the most which we did then we'd meet them Thursday afternoon to put an offer in then the fly you home on Friday - it's pretty full on.
'At least one of the properties had to be replaced which is why you see us saying we don't want stairs then looking around a house with stairs.
'They try and put you in a hotel in the centre of the houses but you're still having to drive probably 45 mins to each property.
'Every scene they have to shoot five times so they can choose the one they like best, after five times saying the same thing I was boring myself.
'I've told all my friends all my best lines ended up on the cutting room floor.
'They were great during the time and did some follow-ups.
'I still watch the show and the presenters do say you need to ask lots of questions - but then why would they have shown us a property on industrial land?
'I just don't think they would've looked into it that deeply.'
The Daily Mail has contacted Channel 4 and the production company for comment.