Monty Don has told a colleague that reading farewell messages after his final episode of Gardeners' World felt "very weird," likening the experience to waking up dead. The 71-year-old presented his last show last week after joining in 2003.
Jo Whiley and Zoe Ball discussed Don's departure on their Dig It podcast, saying they became emotional during the final episode, joining many viewers who admitted to doing the same. Jo said: "He did his final show on Friday, the nation watched and wept as he did his final link from Longmeadow."
Colleagues share emotional reaction
Zoe described the final episode as "beautiful," saying it left her in "tears" even before Don's final goodbye. Following the episode, Jo said Don had messaged her and other colleagues in a WhatsApp group to thank them for their support, while admitting he found some of the reaction "very weird."
Jo told Zoe: "I heard from him the next day, we've got this little WhatsApp group and it's all the people who worked on the dog garden for Radio 2 [at The Chelsea Flower Show]. And he got in touch and just said, 'Thank you for all the lovely well wishes' and he said, 'It's been very weird reading all my obits, it's like I've died this morning waking up'."
"He was like, 'Real life is okay, I'm fine' and actually, 'It's all good'," she added.
Future plans beyond Gardeners' World
Jo went on to say Don's departure felt like "we are in end times," adding: "Where do we go now? Everything's a little bit of skew in the world, it's going to be weird watching Gardeners' World without him."
She said he will continue "reporting back on Longmeadow on his Instagram." "He was absolutely adamant, you know, I'm not showing it on Gardeners World anymore because that's not my thing but it is going to be on Instagram," she added, confirming that he isn't moving house.
"The world is his oyster and all Monty wants to do is travel around the world and look at really beautiful gardens and bring them back to us and he will definitely carry on doing that, and I think he'll be super happy," she added.
BBC reaction to departure
Don announced he would be leaving the show in September, telling fans "now is the right time for a change" as he discussed his upcoming career plans. He said he would continue working with the BBC on other projects "as well as following new avenues," adding: "And of course, I will still be gardening, dog by side, here at Longmeadow."
At the time, the BBC's chief content officer Kate Phillips described the gardener as "unique," adding he was "a wonderfully engaging broadcaster with a soothing, calm presence who has inspired so many." "Monty's decision to leave Gardeners' World is one I respect, but I'm still very sad he's leaving," she added.
"We are a nation full of budding gardeners, and his tips and advice have been invaluable to viewers for more than 20 years and have certainly helped me increase my knowledge as well as my plant survival rate! 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."
Monty Don's British Gardens airs tonight at 8pm on BBC Two.
