When Sarah breezes in all golden skin, sunglasses and expensively highlighted hair, she could be any one of the yummy mummies that populate this particular pocket of south-west London.

But then she opens her mouth and her unmistakeable gravelly voice and infectious laugh give her away. Pregnant again, 'this is definitely the last one,' she laughs - Sarah is glowing. Once they clock who she is, waiters in the Balham coffee shop we're in become suspiciously attendant and passers by double take and smile. Everyone, it seems, loves 'the Beeny' - but why?

Sarah's chatty, cheery nature is probably no small factor in the public's affection for her, and within a few minutes of being in her company it's clear this is no act for the cameras. Indeed, it's probably this quality that landed her the gig presenting Property Ladder - a career move Sarah insists she never imagined. 'I went to a party and someone asked me to do it. It was completely random.'

I never dreamed it would be so successful. I didn't even think it would be recommissioned, but it was, and it's sort of just rolled from there. I genuinely never even considered going into TV. When I was a child, as every child does, I thought it would be just so wonderful to be an A-list Hollywood star, but that's very different to being in telly!'

Business savvy
Sarah may have had a bit of luck in getting into television, but it was her sheer determination and hard work that made her business so successful. Sarah set up a property development company with her brother and her (now) husband at the remarkably young age of 24. Was that daunting? 'Not really, I've always wanted my own business. I suppose I've always been quite grown-up. I was very hungry to work at an early age. I don't know how you give a child hunger to succeed, I'm not sure where it comes from, but I had it. I was always very driven. So I always knew from an early age that I'd have my own business and I suppose somewhere along the way of growing up I got a lot of drive and a lot of hunger for business.' But why did she choose property development? 'When I was growing up my father was an architect, and he built our house, so I know all aspects of property quite well. Buildings themselves appeal to me, and the concept of home appeals to me.

Is it easier to work with people you love? 'It can be really tricky I have to say,' Sarah says. 'And in some ways working with people you don't know is easier. But they're my best friends and we all have a great relationship. I adore my brother, and my husband's alright, too!' she laughs.

Moving forward
The new series of Property Ladder, which started in June this year, has been wittily renamed Property Snakes And Ladders, on account of the falling housing market, but follows pretty much the same format. People buy property, develop it and attempt to sell it at a profit - with sound (but often ignored) advice from Sarah. 'A lot of people felt it would be a very different show now, but personally I think it's very much business as usual. The advice I give is pretty similar, which people are surprised by. The only different thing in this market is that all the people that took a punt and didn't stick to sensible business figures before, have got caught. You have to be a bit savvy to make money in the current market. You have to genuinely add value to a building.'

Wise words. Now 37, Sarah has been hugely successful in the property business for over 10 years, so does it frustrate her when people on the show don't take her advice? 'Not as much as it would if it were my money. Ultimately, I kind of think, well it's your money, it's your funeral. You'd see me being a much angrier person if it was my development. Interestingly, with the market the way it is, a lot of people on the show have listened more this series. You can see it suddenly dawn on them that they're not actually going to make money and then they all start going