A Place in the Sun's Ben Hilman has defended himself after he was questioned about a photo he took that showed the presenter soaking up the sun between shooting the popular Channel 4 show. Appearing on the TV Carpenter Podcast, Ben was asked how his wife Gaby reacted when he shared an Instagram photo of himself swimming laps in a pool in Spain's Puerto del Carmen back in November while she was at home home-schooling their children.
MORE: A Place in the Sun presenter Ben Hillman shows off unique gift from wife
While Ben initially laughed the question off, he revealed that his wife of ten years didn't take issue with the envy-inducing snap as it was the dad-of-two's "first break" since lockdown set in in March 2020.
WATCH: A Place in the Sun star Danni Menzies shares sneak peek into new series
"Well look, you've got to remember I've spent six months at home home-schooling so that was my first break," Ben replied.
"See the difference is, my wife works for the NHS and she has throughout the whole pandemic," he continued, adding: "She's not front line in terms of A&E or Covid response or anything like that, but she has been working throughout. So she has had this outlet which is work which takes her out of the house."
MORE: A Place in the Sun: how to find out what happened to buyers next
MORE: Meet A Place in the Sun star Ben Hillman's family
He then joked: "I've been locked up for six months, give me a break, man!"
Opening up about what it felt like to be back filming after months at home, he said: "To be abroad, after all that time, it was amazing. It was absolutely amazing. A bit of sunshine on your back, it was a wonderful thing."
The presenter, who appears on the popular daytime show alongside Laura Hamilton and Danni Menzies, previously opened up about how he felt working away from his family for the show. He told The Express: "I'm a real homebody, I love being around my family and being around my kids, they're the number one thing in my life."
He went on to explain how lockdown brought them closer together, before he began filming the new series which will start airing next month. "To be intensely with them for all that time [through lockdown] and then all of a sudden not, that was quite tough," he said.
Ben and Gaby have been married since 2011. Soon after the couple tied the knot, they welcomed their first daughter, Hope Blossom, and then their second daughter Honour Willow.
Like this story? Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.