A PLACE In The Sun host Laura Hamilton gave fans an insight into living with a rare autoimmune disease, including bleeding gums.

Laura, 39, who has presented on the Channel 4 show for a decade shared pics of her bruised body after her diagnosis with an autoimmune condition last summer.

She explained she had immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) and told others who also had that they were in her 'thoughts'.

Posting a photo from location in France where she is currently shooting A Place In The Sun, Laura held up her arm to show it covered in bruises.

She captioned the post: "This week I might have posted a few photos in pretty dresses, but this is the reality of what is underneath and what you can’t see…"

"I have had bruising on my arms and my gums have been bleeding. This is ITP.

"Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an auto immune disorder that can lead to easy or excessive bruising and bleeding. The bleeding results from unusually low levels of platelets — the cells that help blood clot."

Laura later posted the photo to her Instagram stories with a message to others with ITP.

She wrote: "If you are an ITP sufferer my thoughts are with you. Keep positive. Follow your dreams and don't let it hold you back," she later added on her Instagram stories.

Laura first publicly revealed her diagnosis in summer last year.

The presenter said she was in the best shape of her life when she started to notice more bruises then normal across her body.

She noticed it when her daughter Tahlia, four, was a baby and son Rocco, now five, was a tot – so she initially blamed it on having young children.

"When Tahlia was about seven months old, I was due to drive to Portugal to film a fitness app, but a few days before I was due to go I started noticing all this bruising coming out on my legs," she told The Mirror.

"At first I wondered if the bruises might have been caused by my diet. I was always someone who bruised quite easily anyway, but it was more than normal."

After researching the answer herself, she eventually confided in her mother-in-law – who convinced her to go to the doctor.

The doctor told Laura her blood platelet levels were dangerously low and diagnosed her with immune ITP.

The condition is rare and only 4,000 adults have it at one time.

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