Film side-hustler who just wanted to pay mortgage now works with BBC and Netflix

Gillian Milner rents out properties for film and photoshoots (Image: GILLIAN MILNER) A woman who began renting out her home to pay for her mortgage has created a business managing dozens of locations including luxurious houses, cottages and stately homes. Gillian Milner runs Location Creation , a group which helps people prepare and rent out their homes for film and photoshoots. She also helps manage and run bookings on behalf of owners, with major clients including BBC , ITV, Netflix and Amazon. The gross budget for a commercial shoot for a 10 to 12 hour day can be around £1,500. The location library takes 20 percent of that while the company takes 10 percent. For even larger film shoots with around 100 people on set, the budget can rise to £3,000 to £4,000 a day. Inside the Deerhurst Road property (Image: GILLIAN MILNER) They use a variety of location libraries, online platforms where they advertise the locations, including Peerspace . Ms Milner told Express.co.uk : ‘On average we would like to earn around £1,000 a day for a shoot for the premium properties we have listed on Peerspace, however this would be for our standard properties. ‘Our premium properties are large scale, bigger mansions in the country or more luxurious houses in London, compared to more everyday homes or smaller cottages. Inside the Deerhurst Road property (Image: GILLIAN MILNER) ‘The need for them really varies depending on the type of booking we make – which is usually for TV and film.’ Their properties include several large houses in London, a seaview cottage in Essex and stately homes including Parnham Park in Dorset and Ravenstone Hall in Leicestershire. Fashion brands such as Next and Zara and food and drink companies also use the attractive locations for photoshoots and filming, as well as online influencers. Inside the Deerhurst Road property (Image: GILLIAN MILNER) Ms Milner previously worked in advertising and got the idea to rent out her own property as she used to organise photoshoots for products. When she and her husband came to buy their property in Deerhurst Road in Streatham in London 20 years ago, they decided to rent it out to help pay off the mortgage. She said: ‘I love having people in the house, I love seeing the content come out. The people coming in are so varied and always really interesting and lovely.’ For the latest personal finance news, follow us on Twitter at @ExpressMoney_.