EXCLUSIVE: Ben Hillman learned the importance of pet insurance the hard way

A Place In The Sun star Ben Hillman has detailed an accident that cost him £5,000 (Image: Channel 4)

A Place In the Sun presenter Ben Hillman has revealed one of his cats had a tragic accident which ended up costing him a whopping £5,000. The Channel 4 star’s cat Milo was run over “about a year ago” and unsurprisingly Ben, 47, now says “if I see him near (the) road, I go mad.” Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk Ben, who tied the knot with wife Gaby in 2011 with whom he shares two daughters Hope Blossom and Honour Willow,” explained what happened to his feline friend.

“He cost me a small fortune.,” he revealed. “My experience with cats (prior to this) was even if they get run over, they don’t need, or won’t need, pet insurance, because it’ll be all or nothing, really. (But then) he came in on a Thursday when the girls were going to bed and I noticed the next day, he still hadn’t moved off the landing.

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I thought this is strange… I phoned the vet up and they said, ‘Well, just lift him up by the army. Just feel his stomach, make sure it’s okay, not in pain’,” he explained.

“I lifted him up. Then I realised his back legs didn’t really work! It was a Friday afternoon so then it was out of hours.

“The long and short of it is he fortunately, just dislocated his back leg, but he cost me five grand so the next day I was taking out pet insurance,” he laughed.

Ben joined A Place In The Sun in 2016, bringing with him a wealth of experience from renovating and constructing numerous properties in the UK, including his own home in West Sussex.

Ben Hillman’s cat Milo cost him £5,000 after an accident (Image: Channel 4)

He managed to reign in his budget for his home remodel without cutting corners as lockdown made him reassess his spending.

“I had spent so much money on the house [in the past] but lockdown made me reassess what money I’m chucking at it.

“We went from spending £15,000 on a bathroom to £500. But even though it’s super-budget, it’s great and just as pleasing. Lockdown taught me to be more inventive.”

He also revealed his daughters have picked up a lot of skills from him and they are keen on DIY themselves.