Gardeners' World presenter Frances Tophill has revealed how a terrifying audition for Alan Titchmarsh's Love Your Garden led to a career-changing opportunity and a bizarre birthday moment with the gardening expert.
Speaking on The Plant Pod podcast, Frances described how the opportunity emerged while she was studying at university in Edinburgh. A production company behind Love Your Garden had approached horticultural institutions seeking people interested in joining the programme.
A nerve-wracking screen test
Frances recalled that she and several friends initially considered it an attractive prospect, assuming they would have the chance to travel around while discussing gardening. However, the actual selection process proved far more intimidating than expected.
She said: "Anyway, so we all went down to London and did this screen test, which was the most horrific, terrifying thing. They just put a camera in front of us and each individually and said, 'Talk for one minute about why you love gardening.' Then we had to make a planter out of a palette or something, I think, all on camera."
The ordeal left Frances and her friend Fiona convinced that broadcasting wasn't for them. She added: "It was just completely alien, and me and my really good friend Fiona went, and we both went away saying, 'That was the most horrible thing I've ever done, and I never want to do it again.'"
From pub to hotel with Alan Titchmarsh
Despite her doubts, Frances was invited back for another round of auditions. Several months later, she received news that would transform her career. She continued: "But I got called back for another round, and then about two or three months later, I got a phone call saying I got the job, and it was so bizarre."
Frances was still completing her degree when she began travelling to filming locations, balancing her academic commitments with her new television responsibilities. Reflecting on her 23rd birthday, she described how she'd spent the previous evening celebrating with friends at the pub before finding herself in a hotel with Alan Titchmarsh. She remarked: "Tonight, I'm sitting with the Alan Titchmarsh in a hotel. I think it was in Wales. It was like, this is so bizarre."
Alan's new garden and tributes
Her memories come as Alan begins a new chapter, having left his long-standing Hampshire home towards the end of last year to move to a smaller, single-storey property in Surrey with his wife, Alison. The couple chose to settle closer to their adult daughters, despite their fondness for their former Grade II-listed property.
Alan has since been documenting the creation of his new garden, selecting plants as tributes to people and relationships that have held significance for him over the years. In his BBC Gardeners' World Magazine column, he wrote: "Call me an old romantic if you like, but as the years go by, the plants in my garden that have happy memories attached to them – mainly by reason of their association – become more treasured. They act as a reminder of happy times and valued friendships."
Among those he has chosen to honour through his garden are his grandfather, author Beatrix Potter, Sybill Spencer, John Anderson and Tony Kirkham. He has also planted something in memory of fellow gardener Beth Chatto, who died aged 94 in 2018.
Frances will be returning to the UK's screens tonight when she appears on Gardeners' World at 8pm on BBC Two.
