Monty Don's 34-year TV career as he considers retiring from Gardeners' World
The TV presenter has hosted Gardeners' World for 20 years - but he started out on This Morning.
Monty Don is preparing to retire from Gardeners World.
The 68-year-old TV presenter and horticulturalist took over fronting the show from Alan Titchmarsh 20 years ago in 2003.
The writer and nature lover – who also fronts his own travel series which see him journeying around the world to explore gardens – has admitted as he gets older he needs to give something up.
Don, who suffered a minor stroke in 2008, told Times Radio: "I will be 70 in two years time. I like making television programmes. I like writing books. To have the energy to do that, and not always have that sense of scrabbling, I think I need to give something up.
“Therefore, the logical thing to give up is Gardener’s World.”
As Monty Don approaches his seventies, the “remorseless treadmill” of Gardener’s World might have to end.@FifiGlover | @TheMontyDon pic.twitter.com/j9YksH8DGc— Times Radio (@TimesRadio) November 7, 2023
"And I'm not prepared to give up writing. And I like the travel stuff I do.
"So therefore the logical thing to give up is Gardeners World, which - for all its virtues - is a relentless treadmill."
We follow Monty Don's journey from gardening-lover to TV stalwart.
This Morning
It was This Morning with Richard and Judy that first gave Monty Don his big break in 1989.
The gardening writer did a screen test in 1989 and was a hit with viewers when he appeared on the ITV daytime show. He was hired as a regular correspondent, giving viewers tips on when and how to plant and care for their gardens.
This led to other TV presenting work on shows including BBC's Tomorrow's World and Channel 4 show Fork to Fork with his wife - about growing and cooking their own vegetables.
Gardeners' World
Gardeners' World has been on BBC Two since 1968, airing on a Friday evening in the spring and summer.
When Alan Titchmarsh stepped down from fronting the show in 2003 Don became the seventh lead presenter.
He was forced to take a break in 2008 after suffering a minor stroke at home and needed time out to recover.
But he returned to the show in 2011 and since 2021 it has been extended from 30 minutes to an hour long.
There is also the annual Gardeners' World Live Show at the Birmingham NEC at which Don appears.
Around The World In 80 Gardens
Monty Don landed his very own show Around The World In 80 Gardens in 2008. He travelled around the globe exploring different designs and approaches to gardening.
This has led to several more travel series to destinations including Italy, France, Japan and the US.
Books
Don started his career as a writer, with his articles on home gardening leading to him being discovered for TV.
But he has described himself as a writer first and foremost "who happens to do a lot of TV," and in his recent interview admitted he could never give it up.
He has published more than 25 books about gardening, travel and even food.
Style
The TV gardener has become almost as famous for his distinctive style as he is for his horticultural knowledge.
Don is known for his love of relaxed linen shirts and jackets, his traditional braces and flamboyant scarves.
And when he travels he is recognisable by the canvas satchel slung across his body.
When he first appeared on This Morning all those years ago, he may have seemed an unlikely style icon. But after 34 years in the public eye, he has become one nonetheless.
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