Spend an hour in the company of Jo Sinnott and you come away feeling better about the world.
We spoke to the Sky Travel and Real Estate TV Presenter about her career so far, what lies ahead, and why the current housing situation will ultimately be ok. We also decided that we want to move to Southern Italy, and may have a crack at presenting ourselves. It is indeed nice work if you can get it…

SoldOut: Hi Jo. You are known for presenting programmes about property, especially property overseas, is this where your background lies?
Joanna Sinnott: Not really, no. My background lies in Musical Theatre: I was an actress, a dancer and a singer. I broke into presenting around seven or eight years ago, but I also renovate properties – something I’ve done with my husband for about eight years now. We’ll buy an old wreck, do it up, live in it for a year or so and then sell it on.

SO: So it makes sense that you’re involved in property on our screens.
JS: Well it is something I know a bit about, although initially I knew more about renovations than I did property abroad.

SO: So how did that come about? [working for Real Estate TV]?
JS: I’d been a presenter on Sky Travel and I had knowledge of property, and Real Estate TV is where those two things meet.

SO: You present Next Big Thing – is that on air now?
JS: Yes, the second series is on at the moment.

SO: Presumably it’s something you enjoy doing?
JS: I love it. In a sense it’s easier to stay at home and do the studio work as I can spend more time with my family – I’ve got a toddler and a dog – but the work I do on location really lights my fire. I love travelling, I love nosing around people’s houses, I love meeting people and Next Big Thing allows me to do all that.

SO: Do you get homesick?
JS: Of course! It would sound awful if I said that I didn’t, but because I’m usually only away for a maximum of four or five days, it’s nice to be the other side of yourself. A lot of the time when I’m at home I’m just Mum, but when I go away I’m not Mum – I’m a presenter

SO: You’ve been to plenty of places around the world. Do you have a favourite?
JS: I love the Cape Verde Islands, which we visited last year, and I love Marrakech. The Cape Verde Islands are a short flight away (about five hours), so I could take my family there at Christmas for example, they have great weather and they’re also sort of virgin territory – you go there and feel like you’ve discovered somewhere new.

SO: So would you consider buying a place there?
JS: I would actually. When I came back from there I was really fired up about the place. It feels very new and untouched and they’re trying to turn it into Europe’s Caribbean. It’s quite a big gamble, but big gambles can be fun.

SO: With a lot of these places though, it can be difficult to retain the charm, yet still develop successfully. It can be quite a balancing act…
JS: Absolutely, but for example the island of Sal, which is under major development, is fairly barren and pretty empty. There’s not a whole lot to ruin as such, rather just enhance it. It’s stuck in the middle of the ocean so it’s absolutely lined with beautiful beaches, but there’s not much in the interior.

SO: Say we had £150,000 to invest in a property abroad, where would you advise?
JS: Would it be for you, or for an investment or both?

SO: Both
JS: And what do you like doing?

SO: Flopping around on the beach. Snowboarding. Somewhere safe would be good, with culture and not too far from he UK.
JS: Okay…perhaps somewhere in Morocco. You can snowboard in the Atlas Mountains there. There’s a place called Essaouira; it’s a couple of hours from Marrakech, and still has an old Medina [a distinct walled section of the city] and for £150,000 you could get a pretty interesting place. Or how about Calabria in Southern Italy? For around £100,000 you could buy a charming house inland, yet still be just a short drive to the beautiful coastline. So you have the beach, but you can also ski or snowboard in the Alpine region.

SO: That sounds idyllic: we might head there after this interview. Okay, so do you watch many property programmes?
JS: I love Kevin McCloud and Grand Designs which I’ve followed from its early existence. I think Sarah Beeney is fabulous – she knows her stuff and she really is practicing what she preaches: she can take a sledgehammer and knock a wall down with the confidence of knowing the rest of the house isn’t going to fall down.

SO: So what advice would you give to someone wanting to break in to presenting property programmes?
JS: It’s so different from how it used to be, it really is. When I first started in this industry you couldn’t do anything without an equity card – it was all about training and working up through the levels. Now though, so many people want experts - you’re actually in a better position now if you’re an estate agent for example, rather than a presenter. If you have a great idea, then your best bet is to pitch directly to the channel or a production company. But don’t take my job.

SO: You mentioned earlier that you used to act a bit. Is it something you would consider going back to?
JS: Do you know I’d love to. When I started presenting I thought I just need to put all my eggs in one basket, because both acting and presenting are tricky professions. I didn’t want to spread myself too thin and instinctively I thought I was a better presenter than actor and I needed to pay my bills. I’m very lucky to be able to do what I love and get paid for it. I’d love to go back to acting, but not to the detriment of what I’m doing now.

SO: Is there a certain amount of acting in presenting anyway? You always seem so cheery.
JS [laughs]: I suppose there is. You find a style of presenting that seems pretty easy to sink into, though I think my eyes give it away when I’m tired or I’ve had enough.

SO: Are you worried about the housing situation in the UK at the moment?
JS: I think that ultimately it will be okay. You could argue that we’d been in a recession for the best part of a year already and most people hadn’t noticed. The people who should be most concerned are those who bought a year or so ago and now find themselves in negative equity. For those people, you should just keep paying your mortgage payments – even if you have to rent out your whole house and move in with family or friends – because we will come out of it, without a doubt.

SO: So what does the future hold for Jo Sinnott?
JS: I enjoy my work and I want it to continue – working in travel and property, two areas that I love. In my wildest dreams I would like a long running prime time terrestrial series that took me around the world doing lots of interesting things. After that I would like someone to come up and say to me: “Jo Sinnott, would you like to play the lead in Chicago?” And I’d say: “Alright, now you ask, I can do that too”.

SO: Well, we certainly wouldn’t bet against it.