What is ITP? 'A Place in the Sun' host Laura Hamilton tells fans about her rare blood condition


TV host Laura Hamilton has opened up about her blood disorder and the impact it has on her body in a new Instagram post.
The presenter, who presented ‘A Place in the Sun’ alongside the late Jonnie Irwin for around ten years, has spoken candidly about living with ITP (Immune thrombocytopenia) - and in a photo shared to her Instagram Stories she has showed how it affects her physically.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdShe showed a photo of her legs, which were covered in bruises. She said the bruises were just a "flare-up", as she wrote in the caption: “This is ITP! Just a little flare-up this week. But you won't see it under my dress for filming!"
In a follow-up video on her Instagram Stories, she thanked her 199,000 followers for their support as she spoke out about her condition. She also revealed that she had arrived on the Greek island of Crete yesterday (Sunday June 9) to film new episodes of the travel property programme. She said: “I just want to say thank you so much to everybody who has reached out to me following my recent story with my legs that are bruised.”
Hinting that she had been doing lots of exciting things in recent days, she continued: “It’s been a very, very crazy week for me which I’ll tell you all about very soon . . . and I think it’s just taken it’s toll.” The video was captioned with the statement: “Sorry to hear from those of you who have ITP too, particularly those whos children have it.” She also kindly said she would give advice to her followers regarding the condition if she could.
It's not the first time the presenter has spoken publicly about her condition. Back In 2022, Laura spoke about fighting the disease after it killed the sister of one of the guests on ‘A Place in the Sun’. At the time, she told the ’Daily Star’: "I have something called ITP, Immune thrombocytopenia, which is low platelet count in my blood, its quite an unknown disease. It sort of flares up and down depending on what's going on with my life, and stress often brings it out."
ITP is an autoimmune condition that causes a low platelet count, according to the NHS. Platelets are a type of blood cell needed to form a blood clot after a cut or injury to prevent bleeding and bruising. In ITP, your body’s immune system mistakenly targets platelets and starts to break them down.
Fewer platelets are also made by the body. This results in lower numbers of circulating platelets. ITP may develop after a viral infection, vaccination or after taking certain medications. However, often the cause is unknown. ITP can also develop in people with other autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis or systemic lupus erythematosus
ITP affects people of all ages and it is more common in females than males. About six in every 100,000 adults in the UK have the condition. Some patients with ITP have no symptoms at all and their low platelet count is picked up on a routine blood test. Even patients who have very low platelet counts will often have very few symptoms.
A low platelet count can cause certain types of bleeding symptoms, including bruising, a pinprick rash of blood spots, nosebleeds, gum bleeds, mouth blood blisters, blood in your urine or stools, fatigue and heavy periods.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad

She continued: "It was really mad a year ago I was filming ‘A Place In The Sun’ with a lovely couple in France - Mark and Janine - and I just stood there and I had an insect bite on my leg and I started scratching it. I was like, 'Oh, I shouldn't have done that because I'm gonna have bruises on my leg from ITP.'"
Hamilton then learned that the house hunter's sister had died from the condition as she shared: "Mark stopped and was like, 'how do you know what ITP is?'. And he told me that really sadly his sister had died from ITP and he said it was really good how I was trying to raise awareness of it. It's one of those times where you think they could have been paired with anybody as a presenter and nobody knew about the ITP link."
The 42-year-old, who is a mother-of-two, has previously refused to hide her bruises from ITP while filming for ‘A Place in the Sun’. She has posted a selection of clips on her Instagram account, @laurahamiltontv, with the caption: "What a great few days filming something new in the sun. My legs are covered in bruises, but with ITP, that is often the case, and I'll never let it stop me from doing the things I love.”
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.