Gardeners’ World’s Adam Frost has opened up about his former mentor, Geoff Hamilton, the iconic BBC presenter who inspired him before his death in 1996
Adam Frost paid a moving tribute to his mentor(Image: BBC)
Adam Frost said his “world turned upside down” when he discovered his co-star had died.
Adam first met Gardeners’ World legend Geoff Hamilton in 1990 after responding to a job advertisement seeking “a young landscaper required for a television garden in Rutland”. It would prove to be a life-changing moment for the presenter, who would eventually go on to become one of the show’s most recognisable faces on TV.
Adam officially joined Gardeners’ World as a co-presenter in 2016, bringing his warm, down-to-earth approach to the much-loved programme. Over the years, the show has been fronted by a host of experts, including Geoff, who joined in 1979 following a guest appearance that led to a permanent role.
To honour what would have been Geoff’s 90th birthday, BBC Four is celebrating his enduring legacy with a special evening dedicated to the much-loved presenter.
Adam, who went on to follow in Geoff’s footsteps, recalled warmly: “You could just sense Geoff was slightly different. There was a presence, a confidence, I could tell he cared passionately about his work. I was captivated.”
He further told the Radio Times: “My relationship with my old man was never great, and Geoff was someone to look up to. He had a lot of his family working for him, a strong moral compass, and he knew what he was trying to do.”
Reflecting on the moment he learned of Geoff’s passing, Adam confessed: “My world turned upside down.” He also revealed that he recently told his son he “still misses him”.
Tragically, Geoff died in 1996 at just 59 years old, following a heart attack while taking part in a charity cycle run.
Away from the garden, Adam has also shown great courage in speaking publicly about his two-decade health battle with Fibromyalgia, a debilitating condition which triggers widespread pain throughout the body and affects roughly 2.5 million people in the UK.
During an appearance on Morning Live, which aired last year, Adam was visibly emotional as he discussed his long struggle with the illness. “For most of my life, I’ve considered myself pretty fit and healthy, regularly playing sports and, of course, spending lots of time in the garden,” he said.
He went on to explain how his symptoms first began: “But around 20 years ago, I started to experience some unusual symptoms. I started to experience these very odd pains. They started in my neck, back, and shoulders, like this throbbing, and that then just moved through the rest of my body. On top of that, I wasn’t sleeping very well. I’d go to work and come home, exhausted.”
Adam revealed that for almost two years, doctors struggled to identify what was causing him to be so unwell, leaving him feeling like he was being “sent from pillar to post”. Even after finally receiving his diagnosis, he explained it took a further 12 months of “going on this journey of understanding to eventually get some sort of treatment.”
Gardeners’ World is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.