How Melissa Porter turned five minutes of video fame into a career. Here she EXCLUSIVLY reveals how she went from Marks and Spencer's to get her own new life via Men and Motors.

Even in the world of TV, to go from Men and Motors to advising people on how to start a new life abroad seems like a quantum leap.

But then Melissa Porter is not one for letting the grass grow under herfeet. She graduated from Manchester University with a degree in RetailMarketing and then became a brand manager or marketing manager for various companies - including Kodak, Timberland, Playtex and M&S.

In the end I got fed up with the office politics and I'd always wanted to be a TV presenter. The time was right to try and make it happen," she said.

And to make it happen involves putting together a show reel that you send off to TV companies. I knew some people who could give me advice and so I went and made one.

They are five minutes long and there are certain things that have to be in it. You have to sit and talk, walk and talk, speak directly to the camera, conduct an interview and do a vox pop - talk to a group of people.

Of course you know that you've got five minutes but no TV executive isgoing to spend that long on the reel. The impact has to be made in the first 30 seconds."

And impact was what she made. "It wasn't very slick but I landed this job with Granada's Men and Motors on a show called 'Quick Chicks'. As it happens, and thanks to my family, I know a fair bit about cars, my father is a car dealer.

The job involved me and another girl going round the country driving some pretty tasty motors - Ferraris and the like. It was great fun."

Like the properties she has renovated it has been onwards and upwards from there. "For me the appeal then and now is that I really enjoy doing something different every day. I love meeting all sorts of people and this job allows that."

Melissa can also hark back to her childhood for help with her career. "I love property," she said. "Whilst I was a child till the age of about 25 when I left home, we lived in about 30 different houses. My dad was completely passionate about property and I think it rubbed off on me. So I'm a bit of a gypsy."

Of course for all the glamour of the finished TV product the reality can be very different. The days are long and hard - starting at seven in the morning and sometimes not finishing until nine.

On the Get A New Life show families move lock, stock and barrel to start a new life. But there's a twist. It's a for a month's trial period only. Then it's decision time. Will they stay, or will they take up the offer of free air tickets and return home?

The series follows the ups and downs of their new life. Melissa andco-presenter Scott Huggins pave the way - taking care of finding rentedaccommodation and schools. Even so it's still an emotional trauma for the families, from packing up possessions and leaving friends and family behind, to getting the kids in school, learning the language, wrestling with red tape, finding work and making new friends.

Despite these obvious hurdles families have relocated to France, Italy,Spain, Australia, the Cayman Islands, New Zealand, Goa, Canada, Costa Rica.

I'll do my pieces to camera which are the opening shots explaining where we are and what we are up to," said Melissa. "Despite the fact that you've got a camera showing the viewer what is going on you still have to set the scene.

"Then we'll go into the property and we'll talk about the place and thelocation. I'll have a little walk around the property and I'll identifycertain points. I have a little chat and explain the pros and cons as well as the costs."

Melissa has certainly made her mark on TV since that breakthrough withGranada. Her TV career has led her to present a number of shows beyond Get A New Life. They include Put Your Money Where You House Is and To Buy or Not to Buy. Then there is Escape to the Country, the popular BBC Two relocation show, where she helps people escape city life for the more peaceful countryside.

Of course it doesn't all go smoothly. There are sometimes people who don't settle in their new country. "We relocated a lovely family to northern Tuscany and they tried really hard and started to build a new life," said Melissa.

But in the end they decided to come home for Christmas. Unfortunately, the dad in the family had a stroke while they were back home. The good news is that three months later, he's recovering and they have returned to Tuscany. Good news.

Basically, as our experiences on the show have proved, everybody can get a new life. You just need the bottle to do it."

Of course a move abroad tends to heighten the uncertainties but the approach has to be pragmatic. "I know from my own experience that people will help if you ask - they will be rooting for you to succeed. That doesn't mean you have to accept everything you are told but all the information you receive is a useful base for your own research.

Your money is hard earned and just because a property in, let's say,Bulgaria seems cheap compared to what you would pay here, it doesn't mean you let your senses go awol.

Find a lawyer who speaks the local language as well as English. If youdon't understand something then ask. Never sign a document unless you are sure you know what it means and what responsibilities you are taking on.

"Be wary of so called 'gentlemen's agreements. Contracts need to beformalised because that way you have some recourse if it all goes wrong."

Of course moving abroad brings a whole raft of new problems. There are not just the technicalities, a different legal system, the language problems - there is almost the small matter of finding a job. If you are moving to an English-language speaking country it is easier.

Do the same as you would in the UK, approach recruitment consultants and check out trade magazines. Persevere," said Melissa. "It's difficult enough even if you can speak the language, so yes speaking the language is important.

The easiest way to settle is to immerse yourself in the new culture. Let go of the ties you have to your own country. Just become part of the culture as quickly as possible. And do lots of research before you go out to the location - that helps tremendously."

So what next for Melissa?

I really wanted to make a success of being a TV presenter and I'm doing a show with Ben Fogle, who recently took part with Olympic rower James Cracknell in the Atlantic rowing race.

But the ultimate TV job would be a dating programme - something like Blind Date. That seems to be the territory of Davina McCall. She's brilliant but I really would love a crack at something like that * Blind Date reinvented."