TWO Kent estate agents have made their television debuts. Jo Murphy and Matthew Bates represented Ward & Partners, Maidstone, when they appeared on the Channel 4 series, Property Ladder, in December.

The series features human interest and lifestyle stories about people buying and selling homes. Sales advisors Jo and Matthew were seen showing three couples round a refurbished two-bedroom Victorian terraced house in Milton Street, Maidstone.

Jo said: "The house was bought at auction for £90,000 and done up by two friends, Liz and Laura, before being resold at £125,000. The first couple I showed round offered the full asking price on the spot.

"Liz and Laura did such a fantastic job at revamping the house, right down to flowers on the mantelpiece. They made the house so welcoming and liveable that it would have suited anyone.

"It aroused a great deal of interest and we actually showed far more people round the house than appeared in the programme. And Liz and Laura were delighted when success crowned their efforts with such a quick and easy sale."

The project, most of it done by the two vendors themselves, included building work such as installing a new kitchen and bathroom and fitting new fireplaces.

The house was also redecorated from top to bottom, not forgetting the cellar where extra mirrors were placed to create the impression of more space. As for Jo, she's not sure that stardom is a role she will be pursuing.

She said: "I was all too aware of the camera following me around the house and found it rather daunting. All I wanted to do was get on with my job. I'm more than happy being a sales advisor and I think I'll be sticking with that for the foreseeable future."