Necker Island documentary to take an 'intimate' look around Branson's home


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With a £40,000 price tag per night, it's a holiday that's out of reach for most of us, save those with the deepest of pockets.

Luckily, there's another way you can have a snoop around Sir Richard Branson's Necker Island holiday retreat without spending a penny (save the cost of your TV license).

BBC2 cameras are going behind the scenes at the Virgin mogul's Caribbean island hideaway as part of a new season of TV shows about the super-rich. 

Home sweet home: A one-off TV show will show viewers around Branson's Necker Island pile

Home sweet home: A one-off TV show will show viewers around Branson's Necker Island pile

Cash ready: It  cost guests up to £40,000 a night to stay at the Caribbean island hideaway

Cash ready: It cost guests up to £40,000 a night to stay at Sir Richard's Caribbean island hideaway

The one-off documentary, Inside Necker Island, is described as 'an intimate portrait of how the rich, powerful and famous holiday'.

Sir Richard bought the island in 1978 when he was just 27 and opened it as a luxury retreat for private hire in 1984. Guests can expect to pay up to £40,000 a night and are waited on by around 100 staff.

It hit the headlines three years ago when Oscar-winner Kate Winslet had to carry Sir Richard's 90-year-old mother, Eve, to safety when a fire broke out in the multi-millionaire businessman's house. The blaze severely damaged the island's Great House, however it was rebuilt a year later. 

Other planned programmes include journalist Jacques Peretti examining how the arrival of the very rich has changed the UK and a one-off documentary about the lives of wealthy Russians who have made their home in London.

Before the fire: An image of the island before it was devastated by a blaze which damaged the Great House

Before the fire: An image of the island before it was devastated by a blaze which damaged the Great House

Luxury: This year the property was voted first in a survey of celebrity houses Brits would most like to stay in

Luxury: This year the property was voted first in a survey of celebrity houses Brits would most like to stay in

BBC2 controller Kim Shillinglaw said: 'From exposing the jaw-dropping luxury in which the richest one per cent of society live to exploring the impact such lifestyle extremes have on contemporary Britain, this will be a fascinating and thought-provoking season of films for BBC2.' 

Earlier this year Necker Island was voted first in a survey of top celebrity houses Brits would most like to stay in, bumping Buckingham Palace into second place.

Past guests of the sunny retreat include Princess Diana, Mariah Carey, Robert De Niro and Steven Spielberg and the private island house has eight guest rooms, each with a balcony, king-sized bed and en-suite bathroom.

Room with a view: The main house on Necker Island as it was before the fire

Room with a view: The main house on Necker Island as it was before the fire

A 1,500 square feet master suite sits upstairs that has been specifically designed to give panoramic views of the Caribbean, the Atlantic Ocean and neighbouring islands and includes a two-person Jacuzzi. 

The Virgin mogul also owns Makepeace Island in Queensland, Australia, a heart-shaped island which you can rent for holidays at a cost of £2,000 a day plus £350 a day per guest, for up to 22 people.

 



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