A HAMPSHIRE couple who sold everything to run a hotel in Italy will be featured on a Channel 4 programme from today.

Pam and David Bates, formerly of Avonborne Way, Chandler's Ford, are appearing in a number of episodes of A Place in Italy.

The couple, who run an eight-bedroom country house hotel and restaurant in the Le Marche region, were filmed searching for an alternative property nearer to the coast.

David, 52, speaking from Italy, said: "It came about by accident really.

"The TV crews booked to stay at our hotel and we got talking.

''They had been having problems with the people they were filming with and without really knowing it we got involved.

"Our hotel is up for sale because we get very little passing traffic and we had been thinking about moving closer to the coast where it would be busier.

"We had a good laugh doing it and we were filmed looking at a number of different properties."

The Bates family may have enjoyed making the programme but they haven't been able to move yet.

They cannot relocate until their current hotel has been sold - it has been on the market for the last six months.

David, who used to work for the AA in Basingstoke, says he has no regrets about leaving "rainy" Southampton behind.

"Everything is different here. There is still a sense of family and community which has been absolutely fantastic."

The couple's children are all former pupils of Thornden School and their daughter Georgina, 19, is also featured on the programme because she works at the hotel.

The Bates family will be featured on A Place in Italy on various weekdays from today until July 28 on Channel 4 at 4.30pm.