THE VIEW
s y a D y n n Su Ahead! Jasmine Harman trained as a fitness instructor and never dreamed of being on the TV. However, there was a twist of fate and she’s now a top presenter and a regular host on A Place in the Sun. She talks to Lynda Clark about her exciting career, and with her property knowledge and experience gives some excellent advice for first time buyers
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asmine is a very busy lady and with two young children and a full schedule of filming to organise she hardly has a spare moment. She regularly presents A Place in the Sun and has also presented a host of television shows on prime-time TV. She was born in Hackney, east London, and comes from a “big Greek family". Her father is British and her mother Greek Cypriot, and Jasmine has six younger siblings, so home life was always very hectic. “Even though my parents separated, I’ve always been close with both of them. When I was growing up, I wanted to be a vet until my mum told me the job involved putting animals down. I was so upset at the thought of it that I went right off the idea and decided to become a vegetarian. Then I wanted to be a pop star, even though I can’t sing! “I was quite academic at school, but I was also very creative. I enjoyed science and maths as much as drama and English literature, but in the end, I decided to focus on the more creative subjects. After taking my A-levels, I decided to train as a fitness instructor. It’s an involved process as there are many different components to it, like
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anatomy, nutrition and of course the physical side of things.” Jasmine got her first job in a health club in Islington, north London, and stayed there for a couple of years before becoming assistant manager in another club in Muswell Hill. “It was 2000 and I was offered the opportunity to go to Portugal and become marketing manager of a health spa. I was headhunted for the position and as I have a real sense of adventure and love travelling I decided to go. It was a very exciting opportunity and although I had never been to Portugal before, I felt that with the right attitude I would make it work. It was absolutely amazing and I loved every moment of it. The lifestyle, social life and the people were all fantastic. It really made me broaden my horizons, and having grown up in Hackney, I suddenly felt that the world was my oyster and I could do and achieve anything I wanted.” Jasmine was responsible for the marketing budget and decided to advertise on the Algarve’s popular radio station, Kiss FM. “I went along to the meeting to sort out what we were going to do and requested we have a female voiceover for one of the ads.
They suggested that I do it myself, and after securing a good discount for the adverts, I agreed. A week later I was left in the studio, live on air, and it was a real baptism of fire! I coped though and managed to get through it, before staying there for three years to present a twice-weekly magazine-style show!” It was at the end of 2003 that Jasmine had a life-changing birthday. She explains, “I was turning 28 and had been thinking I needed a new challenge. I was out for my birthday with friends and after a few margaritas we were feeling a little merry and they suggested that I return to the UK and become a TV presenter! It may have been suggested in jest, but it put a thought in my head. "I had the idea of making a travel show, so I made a pilot in the Algarve. When I returned to London I decided to approach a production company asking if I could go in and talk to them. When I phoned them, the girl who answered spoke Portuguese and, as I speak the language too, we chatted away and I think it broke the ice. She asked me to do a screen test and a couple of months later I was back in the Algarve filming A Place in the Sun: Home or Away? It couldn’t have
First Time Buyer December 2021/January 2022
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First Time Buyer February/March 2022
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