Appearing at an RHS event, Monty Don admitted he will have to find a new way to finance the maintenance of his two-acre garden at Longmeadow following his Gardeners’ World exit
Monty Don has admitted he may have to make a major change next year (Image: Dave Benett, Dave Benett/Getty Images for Killik & Co)
Television legend Monty Don has admitted he may be forced into making a major change at Longmeadow following his departure from Gardeners’ World. Monty, 71, is leaving the show after over 20 years of leading the programme.
However, during a talk at the RHS Malvern autumn show, Monty revealed his soon-to-be former employer, the BBC, had been contributing to the salaries of two gardeners who have worked at Longmeadow since 2011.
Speaking at the RHS event, Monty said the reason for having the team was so the garden could always look “camera ready” if he was away filming in another country, or working on another project.
With his Gardeners’ World exit in mind, Monty, who has lived at Longmeadow in Herefordshire with his wife Sarah since 1991, has said there will come a moment where he will need an alternative plan to keep Longmeadow in shape.
He said: “The BBC pays a contribution towards their wages. Not enough, but they do pay something, which is great. Obviously that contribution is going to go.
“I will have to think of ways – I can’t afford it unless we earn money from it – so I am going to think of ways of earning something from the garden, but I can’t do that until the middle of next year at the earliest.”
Monty, who announced his intention to leave Gardeners’ World in an Instagram video, said he had decided to step away from the renowned show as he felt it was “the right time for a change”.
As well as paying tribute to the “superlative BBC team”, he added: “I look forward to continuing to work with and for the BBC on other projects, as well as following new avenues. And of course, I will still be gardening, dog by side, here at Longmeadow.”
Monty’s exit has subsequently led to speculation about who would replace him, with plenty of candidates from the existing Gardeners’ World team.
Months prior to Monty’s announcement, as questions continued to be asked about how long he would stay on the show, Frances Tophill, 36, was asked how she would feel about potentially replacing him.
Although she has been part of the team for over a decade, Frances ruled herself out of following in Monty’s footsteps, with the latter taking over from Alan Titchmarsh in 2003.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, Frances admitted to having little interest as she saw her main job as being a gardener rather than a presenter.
She said: “I have a huge respect for Monty – it is such a generous thing to give your garden space to the nation and he does it so well. I hope he never leaves….Broadcasting is not my day job, my day job is being a gardener.”
Frances’ comments came after she got a taste of what life as the main presenter would be like when she found herself surrounded by people in a garden centre after deputising for Monty during one episode in 2023. She added: “That’s when I got a glimpse of what being Monty must be like… I don’t want that.”