Coup for agency with fly-on-the-wall Channel 4 show

One of the country’s most exclusive agencies, UK Sotheby’s International Realty, was the subject of a Channel 4 documentary last evening.

The property porn programme was built around the peg that the pandemic has driven more high net worth individuals to the countryside than ever before. 

This trend - and the need to sell ultra-expensive London pads - was at the heart of Selling Britain's Most Expensive Homes, a 60 minute show made by Irish production company Waddell Media.

However there has been widespread media and industry speculation over the image of the high-end market that emerges from the show.

On the one hand it is a highly effective one hour promotion for Sotheby’s agency, and in particular its head of London residential Guy Bradshaw.

On the other it has been caricatured by some, with the Sunday Tines saying it features “mostly middle aged men in navy suits and Barbour jackets.”

Bradshaw himself has told the media: “It’s our team’s day to day workings and our real clients. It’s not reality TV - that’s the key messaging. It’s not a reality show by any means.”

Channel 4 features commissioning editor Tim Hancock says: “Just like the rest of us, the superrich have reacted to lockdown by dreaming of a life in the country. They just do it a little differently. Combining outrageous property porn with an insight into the lives of the richest people in Britain, this documentary shows just how the 0.1 per cent experienced 2020.”

You can make up your own mind; if you haven’t seen it yet, the show is available to stream now on All 4.