Alan Fred Titchmarsh HonFSE (born 2 May 1949) is an English

gardener A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby. Description A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner suppl ...

, broadcaster, TV presenter,

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

, and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire ...

. After working as a professional gardener and a gardening journalist, he established himself as a media personality through appearances on television gardening programmes. He has developed a diverse writing and broadcasting career.

Early career

Alan Fred Titchmarsh was born on 2 May 1949 in Ilkley,

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, England. He is the son of Bessie (''née'' Hardisty), a textile mill worker, and Alan Fred Titchmarsh senior, a plumber. In 1964, after leaving school at 15, with one O-level in Art, Titchmarsh went to work as an apprentice gardener with Ilkley Council, before leaving in 1968, at 18, for Shipley Art and Technology Institute in Shipley in the West Riding of Yorkshire to study for a

City and Guilds The City and Guilds of London Institute is an educational organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded on 11 November 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies – to develop a national system of technical education, the institute has ...

in horticulture. Titchmarsh went on to study at Hertfordshire College of Agriculture and Horticulture for the National Certificate in Horticulture, before finally moving to the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

to study for a Diploma in Horticulture. After graduating he stayed on at Kew, employed as a supervisor and later as a staff trainer. He left to pursue a career in gardening journalism in 1974. His interest in English literature and writing prompted him to apply for a job as assistant editor of gardening books at Hamlyn Publishing and he began to write gardening books of his own, publishing his first in 1976.

Television

Alan Titchmarsh and his Britain in Bloom Garden

Titchmarsh's first few television appearances were on the long-running BBC television show '' Nationwide'' as a horticulture expert. This led to his being invited to present coverage of the Chelsea Flower Show for BBC television in 1983. Titchmarsh hosted this every year until 2013. He also appeared on other BBC shows, such as '' Breakfast Time'' and ''Open Air'' as either a guest presenter or as a gardening expert. In 1991, Titchmarsh was brought in to host the long-running BBC television talk show '' Pebble Mill'', which he did until its cancellation in 1996. In 1991, he presented a 6-part series in which he followed in the footsteps of the pilgrims, travelling around Britain and Ireland in the process. In 1996, Titchmarsh took over as host of another long-running BBC series, ''

Gardeners' World ''Gardeners' World'' is a long-running British gardening programme, first broadcast on 5 January 1968. The 2022 series is the 53rd. Its first series was presented by Ken Burras and came from Oxford Botanical Gardens. Up until 2020 most of its e ...

'', the show being filmed in his own garden. In 1997, he took gardening to the masses with

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

television series, '' Ground Force'', in which he and fellow presenters Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Walsh would perform a makeover on a garden. The show has travelled as far as the United States and South Africa, where one episode saw the ''Ground Force'' team make over

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...

's garden. Alan Titchmarsh2

Staying involved in gardening programmes after ''Gardeners' World'', Titchmarsh has presented two series of ''How To Be A Gardener''. Away from gardening, Titchmarsh has had spells presenting '' Songs of Praise'' and a series of programmes on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

in which he played a selection of light classical music, as well as a BBC nature documentary series, '' British Isles - A Natural History''. In recent years, he has done less television and radio and spent more time on his career as a novelist and renewed interest in writing gardening books. Titchmarsh has appeared in an advertisement for the

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

Tourist Board (now

Welcome To Yorkshire Welcome to Yorkshire (WTY) is the official tourism agency for the traditional county of Yorkshire, the UK's largest county, promoting Yorkshire tourism both nationally and internationally. It was formerly known as the Yorkshire Tourist Board ...

) as part as of a series which included contributions from other Yorkshire-born celebrities including Brian Blessed, Melanie Brown, Darren Gough and Brian Turner. He occasionally does other voiceover work for advertisements as well as voicing the title character in ''

Gordon the Garden Gnome ''Gordon the Garden Gnome'' is an animated children's television series aimed at getting children interested in gardening. Gordon is a happy garden gnome, whose voice is provided by TV gardening presenter Alan Titchmarsh. The series began in 2005 ...

'', a cartoon series for the CBeebies channel.
In autumn 2007, Titchmarsh hosted a follow-up series to ''British Isles – A Natural History'' entitled ''

The Nature of Britain ''The Nature of Britain'' is a nature documentary series made for British television by the BBC Natural History Unit. It was first broadcast on BBC1 in October and November 2007. ''The Nature of Britain'' was the second BBC natural history series ...

'' focusing on British plant and animal species. Other work includes hosting a 2005 special edition of the '' Antiques Roadshow'', entitled the ''

20th Century Roadshow ''Antiques Roadshow'' is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom (and occasionally in other countries) to appraise antiques brought in by local people (ge ...

'', which focused on modern collectibles, performing in the 2006

Children's Party at the Palace The Children's Party at the Palace was an event organised by Peter Orton of Hit Entertainment and David Johnstone of DJI consult, held in the Garden at Buckingham Palace on 25 June 2006 in honour of the 80th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. The ...

for the Queen's 80th birthday, and guest hosting an episode of ''

The Paul O'Grady Show ''The Paul O'Grady Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by comedian Paul O'Grady, first shown on 11 October 2004. The programme is a teatime chat show consisting of a mixture of celebrity guests, comic stunts, musical performances, a ...

'' while O'Grady was off for medical reasons. In 2007 Titchmarsh hosted ''The Great British Village Show'', in which gardeners and cooks from all over Britain competed to be the best at growing pumpkins, runner beans and tomatoes, and at knitting, baking cakes and making jam. In September 2007 Titchmarsh began presenting his afternoon ITV chat show '' The Alan Titchmarsh Show'' which aired in the 3.00 pm afternoon slot. The show ended in November 2014. In 2010 Titchmarsh presented the first series of '' Popstar to Operastar'' with Myleene Klass. Since 2011, he has presented gardening show ''

Love Your Garden ''Love Your Garden'' is a British lifestyle gardening programme that was first broadcast on ITV on 10 June 2011. The show is hosted by Alan Titchmarsh alongside co-presenters David Domoney David Martin Domoney, C Hort. FCI Hort (born 26 M ...

''. On 1 June 2012 he presented ''Elizabeth: Queen, Wife, Mother'' on ITV and was criticised the following day, for his obsequiousness, in a review by Sam Wollaston for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

''. In 2013, Titchmarsh, then aged 64, responded to complaints that older women were discriminated against on television by stating he would like to hear less "whingeing". "They don't complain in their early days when they are disporting themselves on sports cars", he stated in an interview with ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

''. This drew criticism from media figures who had been protesting against the difficulties faced by older women in the media, including from

Miriam O'Reilly Miriam O'Reilly (born 16 February 1957 in Balbriggan, County Dublin) is an Irish television presenter. Until 2009, she was a presenter on the BBC One rural affairs show ''Countryfile''. Early life The daughter of an Irish farmer who came to ...

, winner of an age discrimination case against the BBC. In spring 2013 Titchmarsh was a reporter on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

programme ''The Great British Winter''. In December 2014 Titchmarsh presented a two-part series for ITV called ''The Queen's Garden'' that was filmed over a time period of one year. In January 2015 Titchmarsh presented ''Britain's Best Back Gardens''. In February 2016, Titchmarsh began presenting the daytime game show '' Masterpiece'' for ITV. In February 2017, the Channel Five programme '' Secrets of the National Trust'' started airing with Alan Titchmarsh as the main presenter alongside other well known celebrities.

Radio

In 1988 Titchmarsh was offered a slot on

hosting a gardening show with

Gloria Hunniford Mary Winifred Gloria Hunniford, OBE (born 10 April 1940) is a Northern Irish television and radio presenter, broadcaster and singer. She is known for presenting programmes on the BBC and ITV, such as '' Rip Off Britain'', and her regular appea ...

called ''House in a Garden''. In January 2006, Titchmarsh was given a permanent slot on

on Sunday evenings with the show "Melodies for you" consisting of light classical and popular music, following the traditional style of Sunday-night broadcasting on Radio 2. In August 2011, Titchmarsh left Radio 2. Since January 2012, he has hosted a Saturday morning show on Classic FM.

Writing

His first novel, ''Only Dad'', was published in November 2001. A further six books have since been published. Running parallel to the fiction work, Titchmarsh published a new series of gardening guides, the ''How to Garden'' series, in April 2009. His second autobiographical work is ''Nobbut A Lad: A Yorkshire Childhood'' from October 2006, a follow-up to his first autobiography, ''Trowel & Error'', published in 2002. ''When I Was A Nipper'' was published on 30 September 2010.

Personal life

Titchmarsh has been married to Alison since 1975 and they have two children. In addition to his extensive television and writing work, Titchmarsh is also trustee of a charity, 'Gardens for Schools', and others, including 'Seeds for Africa'. Gardens for Schools helped fund gardens and green spaces in and around schools, while Seeds for Africa encourages sustainable vegetable gardening. It provides community groups with the tools, seeds and training they need to start their own vegetable gardens including providing water installation and preparing the land. Gardens for Schools has since been merged with the RHS Campaign for School Gardening. Away from horticulture, Titchmarsh has been involved with the Cowes inshore lifeboat, where he was patron until 2008, and with the National Maritime Museum, where he was a trustee until December 2008. In 2004 Titchmarsh became the president of Perennial, officially known as the

Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Society Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Society is a large national charity in the United Kingdom. It currently operates under the working name Perennial. Founded in 1839, Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Society is based in Leatherhead, Surrey, and is a registe ...

. Perennial is one of the UK's oldest charities and was created in 1839 to help gardeners and horticulturists facing times of difficulty. In 2010 Titchmarsh became president of the plant conservation charity Plant Heritage (previously the NCCPG). Titchmarsh has a wax statue at

Madame Tussaud's Madame Tussauds (, ) is a wax museum founded in 1835 by French wax sculptor Marie Tussaud in London, spawning similar museums in major cities around the world. While it used to be spelled as "Madame Tussaud's"; the apostrophe is no longer us ...

Alan Titchmarsh plants tree on Bolsover Street

In August 2014 Titchmarsh was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''

'' expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue. Titchmarsh is a monarchist. Titchmarsh is an occasional practitioner of church bellringing. In 2011 he rang a quarter peal in Holybourne, Hampshire, to celebrate the marriage of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. In 2011 he participated in an Elm Tree Planting Ceremony to promote urban greening in London. He returned to the

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it ...

and Fitzrovia area to plant a project's 1000th new tree in 2022. Titchmarsh moved to his home, a grade II listed Georgian farmhouse in Hampshire, in 2002. He also has a coastal home, near Cowes on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Is ...

, where he spends about a third of the year.

Honours and awards

Titchmarsh was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the 2000 New Year Honours for services to horticulture and broadcasting. He was made a Deputy Lieutenant (DL) of the

County of Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshir ...

in 2001. In 2008, Titchmarsh served as High Sheriff of the Isle of Wight. In 1999, Titchmarsh was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

(DSc) degree by the

University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, but ...

. He was made Patron at Writtle College, a university college in Essex, in 2001 and had a building named after him at the college in 2011 (the 'Titchmarsh Centre for Animal Studies'). In 2004, he was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society's Victoria Medal of Honour, the highest award the RHS can bestow. In 2007, he was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Winchester, and in 2014 was designated as the

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the university. He was honoured by the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a city and borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of central Greater London, including most of the West En ...

at a tree planting and plaque ceremony in 2011 and 2022.

Other projects

Titchmarsh has launched his own range of gardening tools, developed in conjunction with manufacturer Bulldog Tools. He has worked with Digitalis Media to launch "Gardeners' Heaven", the online retail arm of his website, which supplies his tools as well as other popular gardening products. Titchmarsh played the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

in '' Sister Act: The Musical'' at the

Minack Theatre The Minack Theatre ( kw, Gwaryjy Minack) is an open-air theatre, constructed above a gully with a rocky granite outcrop jutting into the sea. The theatre is at Porthcurno, from Land's End in Cornwall, England. The season runs each year from May ...

Porthcurno Porthcurno ( kw, Porthkornow, Porthcornow, meaning ''"pinnacle cove"'', see below) is a small village covering a small valley and beach on the south coast of Cornwall, England in the United Kingdom. It is the main settlement in a civil and an e ...

, Cornwall in the BROS Theatre Company Production on 29 May 2019. He appeared in the final act of the show.

Bibliography

Non-fiction

* ''Alan Titchmarsh – The Gardener's Year'', 2005 () * ''Alan Titchmarsh's Fill My Stocking'', 2005 () * ''The Complete How to Be a Gardener'', 2005 () * ''British Isles'', 2005 () * ''England, Our England'', 2007 () * ''Nature of Britain'', 2007 () * ''The Kitchen Gardener – Grow Your Own Fruit & Veg'', 2008 () * ''How to Garden: Gardening in the Shade'', 2009 () * ''How to Garden: Vegetables and Herbs'', 2009 () * ''How to Garden: Container Gardening'', 2009 () * ''How to Garden: Garden Design'', 2009 () * ''How to Garden: Lawns, Paths and Patios'', 2009 () * ''How to Garden: Pruning and Training'', 2009 () * ''How to Garden: Growing Fruit'', 2010 () * ''How to Garden: Flowering Shrubs'', 2010 () * ''How to Garden: Climbers and Wall Shrubs'', 2010 () * ''How to Garden: Greenhouse Gardening'', 2010 () * ''How to Garden: Perennial Garden Plants'', 2010 () * ''Elizabeth: Her Life, Our Times'', Ebury Press 2012 () * ''The Queen's Houses'', BBC Books 2014 () * ''Lost Skills and Crafts Handbook: A Guide to the Old Ways of Country Life Hardcover, BBC Books 2021 ()

Memoirs

* ''Trowel and Error'', Hodder & Stoughton 2002 () * ''Nobbut A Lad : A Yorkshire Childhood'', Hodder & Stoughton 2006 () * ''Knave of Spades'', Hodder & Stoughton 2009 () * ''Collected memoirs'', Hodder & Stoughton 2016

Fiction

* ''Mr MacGregor'', Simon & Schuster 1998 () * ''The Last Lighthouse Keeper'', Simon & Schuster 1999 () * ''Animal Instincts'', Simon & Schuster 2000 () * ''Only Dad'',

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publi ...

2001 () * ''Rosie'', Simon & Schuster () * ''Love and Dr. Devon'', Simon & Schuster () * ''Folly'', Hodder & Stoughton 2008 () * ''The Haunting'', Hodder & Stoughton 2011 () * ''Bring Me Home'', Hodder & Stoughton 2014 () * ''Mr Gandy's Grand Tour'', Hodder & Stoughton 2016 () * ''The Scarlet Nightingale'', Hodder Paperbacks 2019 ()

Poetry

* ''Marigolds, Myrtle and Moles: A Gardener's Bedside Book'', Hodder & Stoughton 2020 {{{ISBN, 978-1-529-31115-0)

Filmography

{, class="wikitable" , - style="background:#b0c4de; text-align:center;" ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes , - , 1989–1994 , '' Songs of Praise'' , Presenter , , - , 2002 , ''How To Be A Gardener'' , Presenter , , - , 1983–2013 , ''

RHS Chelsea Flower Show The RHS Chelsea Flower Show, formally known as the ''Great Spring Show'',Phil Clayton, ''The Great Temple Show'' in ''The Garden'' 2008, p.452, The Royal Horticultural Society is a garden show held for five days in May by the Royal Horticultur ...

'' , Co-presenter , , - , 1991 , ''Titchmarsh's Travels'' , Presenter , , - , 1991–1996 , '' Pebble Mill at One'' , Presenter , , - , 1996–2002 , ''

'' , Presenter , , - , 1997–2002 , '' Ground Force'' , Presenter , , - , 2004 , ''

British Isles – A Natural History ''British Isles – A Natural History'' is an eight-part documentary series produced by the BBC Natural History Unit and presented by Alan Titchmarsh. Originally broadcast in the UK on BBC1 from September to November 2004, it took viewers on a ...

'' , Presenter , , - , rowspan=2, 2005 , ''

'' , Presenter , , - , ''

'' , Voice of Gordon , , - , 2006 , ''

'' , Guest presenter , 1 episode , - , rowspan=2, 2007 , ''

'' , Presenter , Documentary series , - , ''The Great British Village Show'' , Presenter , , - , 2007–2014 , '' The Alan Titchmarsh Show'' , Presenter , 15 series , - , 2010 , '' Popstar to Operastar'' , Co-presenter , Series 1; with Myleene Klass , - , 2011—present , ''

'' , Co-presenter , 8 series , - , 2012 , ''Elizabeth: Queen, Wife, Mother'' , Presenter , One-off programme , - , 2013 , ''The Great British Winter'' , , , - , 2014 , ''The Queen's Garden'' , Presenter , Two-part series , - , rowspan=2, 2015 , ''Britain's Best Back Gardens'' , Presenter , 1 series , - , ''Titchmarsh on Capability Brown'' , Presenter , One-off documentary , - , 2016–2017 , '' Masterpiece with Alan Titchmarsh'' , Co-presenter , 2 series; with Rachel Houston-Holland , - , 2016 , ''Winnie-the-Pooh: The Most Famous Bear in the World'' , Presenter , One-off documentary , - , 2017—present , ''Secrets of the National Trust'' , Presenter , 2 series , - , rowspan=2, 2017 , ''Royal Windsor Horse Show Live'' , Presenter , One-off special , - , ''Prince Philip: 70 Years of Service'' , Presenter , One-off special , - , 2017—present , ''Love Your Home and Garden'' , Presenter , 1 series , - , 2020—present , ''Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh'' , Presenter , 4 series , - , 2021—present , ''Alan Titchmarsh: Spring Into Summer'' , Presenter , 1 series , - , 2021 , ''Love Your Cottage Garden Special'' , Presenter , One-off special{{cite web, url=https://www.itv.com/presscentre/ep1week34/love-your-cottage-garden-special, title=Love Your Cottage Garden Special, website=itv.com/presscentre, access-date=26 August 2021 , -

References

{{Reflist

External links

{{Commons category
BBC Nature Presenter Biography
*{{IMDb name, id=0864436, name=Alan Titchmarsh
Alan Titchmarsh on Classic FM
{{Authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Titchmarsh, Alan 1949 births Living people 21st-century English male writers 21st-century English novelists BBC Radio 2 presenters British monarchists Country Life (magazine) people Deputy Lieutenants of Hampshire English Christians English garden writers English gardeners English male non-fiction writers English male novelists English television presenters English television talk show hosts High Sheriffs of the Isle of Wight Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Ilkley Television personalities from West Yorkshire Victoria Medal of Honour (Horticulture) recipients