Monty Don has admitted that, behind the scenes of Gardeners' World, his life is very different from how it appears on screen. The 71-year-old presenter announced on September 8 via Instagram that he is leaving the BBC show after 23 years, saying it was "time for a change" and for "new adventures".
Days before that announcement, he appeared on the Good Food podcast to address what he called the public's biggest misconception about him: that he spends all his time gardening. He said that, despite the informal feel of Gardeners' World, a great deal of planning is involved.
An incredibly complex jigsaw puzzle
"That I spend all my time gardening. The biggest misconception is that I just happen to be in the garden 18 hours a day and every now and then, a film crew turns up and catches me in the garden," he explained. "There is a production team of about 50 people, there are scripts, there are pre-production meetings. It's an incredibly complex jigsaw puzzle we put together."
Monty added that gardening is something he does in his spare time, as a way to relax, just as other people might enjoy hobbies outside work. "I mean, seriously, I lead an incredibly busy life. I write books, I give talks, I travel a lot to film. I garden in my spare time. I'm not a full-time gardener," he said.
Spare time gardening
"I wish I was, but I go to work every day. I don't get paid to garden. I do garden nearly all my spare time and so, nowadays, I try and spend one full day a week in the garden and a couple of three/four hour sessions. I think people think I occasionally go indoors and get fed."
His easygoing presenting style has also drawn attention from his contemporaries, notably former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson. In a column for The Times, Clarkson called on the BBC to think carefully about who replaces Monty, urging the broadcaster not to choose someone who did not know what they were talking about.
"There's also a trend to hire people who have absolutely no idea what they're talking about," Clarkson wrote. "I bet my name comes up too, 'because he's doing that farm thing now and farming's just big gardening isn't it?'"
Monty returns to UK screens this evening (October 9) on BBC Gardeners' World at 8pm on BBC Two.
