FANS of A Place in the Sun believe they’ve witnessed one of the strangest mysteries in the history of the programme.
The episode was introduced by presenter Laura Hamilton from an idyllic looking Lazio region in Italy.
Laura explained that she was helping couple Mark and Patricia look for somewhere they could live but also potentially run as a B&B business.
The pair had both separately wanted to live in Italy and when they met, they realised they had a shared dream to live there.
Viewers were told the couple were engaged to be married and so didn’t want to waste any time in finding their forever home together.
Taxi driver Mark and dressmaker Patricia had a budget of £330,000 for their search and they were looking forward to running a business in Italy.
Patricia said: “We’d like to have a B&B it would be nice to meet and greet people and serve them because I’ve worked a lot in hospitality. I just like seeing people have fun.”
The search got off to a normal start with Mark talking about his Italian heritage and love of the local food. For Patricia she was looking forward to being a culture vulture.
Mark and Patricia saw a four bed detached house that was a contender followed by a grand seven bed complex, which the couple loved.
It’s at this point thing take a turn. As the show returned from it’s half way ad break the voiceover said that: “Unfortunately Mark is unable to carry on with the search but Patricia is carrying on on her own.”
The search continued with no real mention of the missing Mark or whether he would approve of the properties.
A recap voiceover reminded viewers again that Mark was “Unable to continue with filming” and that Patricia was now house hunting solo.
As Laura summed up the search she said: “Mark can’t be with us for this, but it’s all about you now.”
Patricia loved the final property, a stunning detached villa with a pool and she decided to put a cheeky bid in with the agent, again with no mention of her missing fiancé, but the offer was ultimately turned down.
Viewers were far more interested in what had happened to the couple’s plans and more importantly, to the other half of the couple himself.
One house hunting fan said on social media: “Why are they not even mentioning if Mark would like this property?”
Another added: “I can’t concentrate now as I want to know if Mark has disappeared forever.”
This started a chain of confused viewers with another saying: “I went out the room for a second and he’s gone.”
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To add to the confusion the closing credits of the programme claimed that the show had been filmed entirely in Greece.
Finally one viewer seemed to sum up the general feeling saying: “This has to be the weirdest episode ever.”
A Place In The Sun is on Channel 4 weekdays at 6pm and is available to stream now
40 DAY Health Challenge coach Dr Eddie Murphy has urged Irish people who suffer with anxiety to tackle their avoidances to help “grow their life”.
Associate Professor at the UCD School of Psychology, Dr Eddie, said it can massively limit a person’s life.
He said: “In modern psychology, we’re really interested in what keeps problems going, and avoidance will always keep problems going.
“How many times have you avoided things? Is avoidance a pattern in the way you work?
“Avoidance will always keep the problem going. That’s a core lesson, a core point of view from psychology.
“So how do we tackle avoidance? Well, first of all, I’d love if you could videotape yourself on your phone.
“What do you avoid? Do you avoid people? Do you avoid situations?”
The clinical psychologist said people should “step outside” of their comfort zone.
He added: “By putting it into the record, you have it and you know what you’re avoiding, and these are the tools now to tackle that avoidance.
“See, avoidance, it reduces our anxiety when we get into avoidance.
“But it also limits our life.
“So I’m asking you to step outside your comfort zone to tackle your avoidance step by step, and you can put that on video for me because I’d like to hear you saying, ‘When I did this, my world grew bigger, I became more confident.’
“‘I was tackling my avoidances’.
“And I guarantee you this, and I guarantee very little in psychology, but your anxiety will come down when you get into that space and allow yourself into that space that you avoid.
“It will come down, use some deep breathing, nice tools. Say, ‘I can get through this’ in your head, tackle your avoidances and your life will grow.”
Brave 40 Day Health Challenge recruit Olivia Fitzgerald brought show viewers to tears when she opened up on an overlooked issue many people face.
The mum-of-four told Dr Eddie that her biggest challenge so far is facing others.
Olivia admitted: “I definitely think about what other people think about me.”
THE latest episodes of the 40 Day Health Challenge are now available at the 40dayhealthchallenge.ie.
Readers can also follow all the action and get the latest updates, meal plans, exercises and mental health tips from Thesun.ie and Ireland’s Classic Hits Radio during the 40 days.
Dr Eddie discussed how the Limerick woman needs to have a kinder voice towards herself.
He explained: “So that’s called mind reading. You are trying to think what the other person’s thinking about me. And that’s an anxiety type behaviour.
“It’s a big feature of social anxiety. Sometimes, people in social situations are always trying to figure out what other people are thinking about them.”
Dr Eddie discussed how these thoughts can be an indicator of social anxiety – and how many people just ignore it.
Social anxiety affects nearly one in eight adults in Ireland, according to Social Anxiety Ireland.
He said: “It’s actually one of the most missed of all the anxiety presentations.
“There’s 13 per cent of people, a huge amount of people with social anxiety.
“There’s very good website called socialanxietyireland.com.
“Some people have very specific social anxiety say like giving a best man speech or something like that.”
Social anxiety was the last anxiety disorder to be discovered, which was only formally recognised in 1979.
It remains the least understood in terms of public and professional understanding.
Olivia admitted she sometimes had thoughts that she “wasn’t worth it” and hopes to “change that mind-set” during the 40 Day Health Challenge.
Dr Eddie said: “It’s so brave of you to put yourself forward for the 40 day health challenge when this is not your comfort zone.
“Everything you do here is outside your comfort zone, and that is total respect from us. Everything you do, all respectfulness.”
Serves 2 (each serving contains approximately 511 kcal)
Suitable for vegetarians if an alternative to salmon is used.
Ingredients:
100g wholewheat pasta, such as fusilli or penne
1 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil (15g)
2 salmon fillets (125g each)*
100g cherry tomatoes
50g baby spinach leaves
25g rinsed capers
1 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese (15g)
*Suitable vegetarian alternatives for salmon are:
345g tofu
535g mycoprotein such as Quorn vegan pieces
435g chickpeas, drained and rinsed
The method:
Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling water for 10-12 minutes or according to packet instructions until just tender. Meanwhile, heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat.
Add the oil and then add the salmon and cook for 5-6 minutes, skin side down.
Chop the cherry tomatoes and add to the salmon, then sauté for another 2 minutes.
Remove the frying pan from the heat and flake the salmon fillets into small pieces with a fork.
Drain the pasta and add to the fish mixture with the spinach and capers. Fold everything together until evenly combined.
Divide the salmon pasta between bowls and scatter over the Parmesan to serve.
Dietitian Sophie Pratt said: “Salmon contains omega 3 fatty acids which promote heart health.”
ARSENAL face a potential nightmare journey to the Champions League following the play-off draw.
The Gunners qualified automatically from the league phase after finishing third behind Liverpool and Barcelona.
But they have been dealt a tough draw with Juventus potentially up next if the Italian side beat Lille.
Alternatively, Arsenal could play the winner of Feyenoord or AC Milan, depending on the draw for the Round of 16.
If they progress an even more difficult quarter-final clash will await.
That is because Arsenal have been picked out in the same side of the draw as Manchester City, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich.
They could face any of that trio or one of Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid or Celtic.
Liverpool or Barcelona could come next in the semi-final, so the Gunners face a massive challenge to get to Munich.
City have been tasked with the same nightmare run – only they face an game extra against Real Madrid in the play-off, with both juggernauts failing to finish in the top eight.
By contrast Liverpool have an easier set of fixtures up until the semi-final, with PSG and Borussia Dortmund arguably the most difficult teams they could potentially face.
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Aston Villa were pulled out on the same side of the draw as Liverpool and could face Club Brugge, Atalanta, Sporting or Dortmund in the Round of 16.
City’s horror draw means they face Arsenal, Real Madrid and Liverpool in the space of a few weeks next month.
THE UFC returns to the Middle East this weekend for yet another blockbuster event.
And they’ve brought out one of their big guns for their second visit to Saudi Arabia.
The MMA leader resumes action on Saturday night with a stacked UFC Fight Night 250 card, which takes place at the Kingdom Arena.
Topping the bill is a pivotal middleweight match-up between former champion Israel Adesanya and surging contender Nassourdine Imavov.
Fan favourite Adesanya will look to get back to winning ways following consecutive defeats to Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis.
Dagesani-born Frenchman, Imavov, meanwhile, will look to punch his ticket to title contention with the biggest win of his career.
The middleweight division will also be showcased a thriller of a co-main event.
Brit Michael ‘Venom’ Page will throw down with one-eyed phenom Sharabutdin ‘Bullet’ Magomedov in a clash of strikers.
The bout will be Page’s first at 185lbs and his first since he suffered a decision defeat to Ian Garry in June.
UFC Fight Night 250 is jam packed with entertaining fights.
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And SunSport is on hand with everything you need to know about the card.
UFC Fight Night 250 takes place at the Kingdom Arena on Saturday, February 1.
The early prelims will get underway at 2pm GMT, with the stacked main card commencing at 5pm.
The prelim portion of the card will be available to watch live on UFC Fight Pass.
The main card will be shown live on TNT Sports in the United Kingom and Ireland.
You can live stream all the action from the Discovery+ app, which is available for download onto your mobile or tablet device.
Main card
Prelims
