THOSE tempted to take up the challenge of living overseas were definitely having second thoughts after Celebrity Place In The Sun (C4, Thursday).

It must have been such fun for the programme makers imagining what shallow viewing you could generate with Tara Palmer-Tomkinson and £1.5m on the Cote d'Azur.

But good old P-T wasn't anything like the "poor misunderstood little rich girl" who emerged from the jungle in ITV's I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Here.

Fuelled by the over-confidence of having her own money to spend, instead of her parents', we suffered the sight of P-T pouting and preening over presenter Amanda Lamb's choices without the slightest intention of buying anything.

"Not only does she come across as a complete tart but the whole programme is pointless because she's just split up with her boyfriend," said my wife as P-T cooed about buying a second home in the South of France to impress Jamie Hargreaves, son of millionaire Matalan tycoon John.

Apparently, a planned holiday for the two in the area is now off. But don't think you can escape the sick bucket for long. Next week's celeb property hunters in Dubai are Grant Bovey and Anthea Turner.

The stumbling block regarding both programmes is why multi-millionaires should require the help of a humble British TV company to find a luxury home.

Even more millions are in demand to save the crumbling contenders in Restoration (BBC2, Tuesday). North Yorkshire's Gayle Mill put our region on the TV map, but my antiques expert at home was far more interested in the opposition from Sheffield, Manor Lodge.

"Who are those two old codgers?" she queried as Restoration showed the Leeds version of Look North with presenters Harry Gration and Christa Ackroyd imploring viewers to vote for Manor Lodge, which is really no more than a gatehouse and a few tumbled down walls in the middle of a council housing estate.

At least Newcastle's Look North can put forward the likes of Carol Malia and Lara Rostron, not to mention the wonderfully-named weathergirl Trai Anfield. But what captures the imagination is that Manor Lodge was once used to imprison Mary Queen of Scots.

The third property is a selection of flimsy old temporary buildings which form the derelict Lion Saltworks in Cheshire. We were also fed steamy stories of Victorian saltworkers stripped to the bare essentials as they turned heated brine into crystals. I'd never thought of salt being sexy before.

The result will be known on Sunday, although a lot of votes are going to have to be drummed up from the dales for Gayle Mill to succeed.

The final incredible properties featured were on Superhomes (BBC2, Wednesday) as documentary cameras visited Jackson Hole in Wyoming, which boasts Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart as residents.

With one estate agent for every 20 homes the buying and selling is cut-throat. "I think I'm sick and tired of all this," said my Look North expert as one family were shown viewing the $1m interior of a holiday home that they'd left entirely up to a designer.

No wonder the town's famous for being the last example of the Wild West.

Published: 31/07/2004