Monty Don, the longest serving head gardener on the BBC’s Gardeners’ World programme, will step down at the end of the current series.
After 23 years leading the show, which he has hosted alongside his dogs from his own garden in Herefordshire since 2011, Don said it was “the right time for a change”. He will continue working with the BBC on other programmes, as well as pursuing his own projects, such as writing books.
“Throughout that time – and around 700 programmes – I have had the privilege of sharing my own abiding passion for gardens and gardening with an equally passionate, and often equally knowledgeable, audience,” Don said.
“That connection with millions, not just in Britain but across the world, who share a love of gardens, plants and the natural world is something I have always treasured and which I increasingly believe to be at the heart of a life well lived.”
The final series hosted by Don will continue to be broadcast from Longmeadow until later this year.
Kate Phillips, the BBC’s chief content officer, said Don was “utterly unique, a wonderfully engaging broadcaster with a soothing, calm presence who has inspired so many with his passion for gardening”.
In reference to Don’s frankness about his experience with depression, she added: “I would like to thank Monty personally for his honesty and kindness, which has seen him open up about his own personal struggles and the power of the natural world to improve mental health. We will miss him on the show hugely.”
Sharon Fisher, BBC Studios’ series editor for Gardeners’ World, who has worked with Don for the last 20 years, described his contribution as extraordinary.
“Through his warmth, wisdom and deep love of gardening, he has inspired millions to discover the pleasure and purpose that getting your hands into the soil can bring,” she said.
“I have seen first-hand the care, integrity and generosity he brings to everything he does. His departure marks the end of a remarkable chapter in the programme’s history.
“All of us on the Gardeners’ World team will miss him enormously, but we celebrate everything he has given to the programme, the gardening community and the audience, who have welcomed him into their homes every week for over two decades.”
A Gardeners’ World source said Frances Tophill, a presenter on the show, “has been tipped as his successor for a while”. At the RHS Chelsea Flower Show this year, Tophill co-designed a garden with David Beckham and King Charles.
“She is incredibly popular, excellent on-screen and a brilliant gardener,” the source added.
Tophill’s Chelsea Flower Show garden included an area for natural and homeopathic remedies in a shed, requested by the king, and bee-friendly features requested by Beckham.
She has deputised for Don when he has been unavailable, and when asked by the Sunday Times this year if she had designs on Don’s job, she said: “I hope [Don] never leaves.”