retirement

Monty Don has gone under the knife and admits he will need to do it again in 2027 as he opens up about his future with Gardeners’ World and retirement plans

Monty Don has spoken of his “painful” recovery from a knee replacement in October that briefly slowed the Gardeners’ World host. The broadcaster and horticulturist went under the knife shortly after he turned 70 last Summer.

Looking back he says: “I was finding by the end of a day’s filming I could barely walk upstairs and I certainly couldn’t take the dogs for a walk. It was severely limiting what I was doing. I did it so I could keep on working because it was getting to the point where filming was cutting round me limping.

“However you do it, a knee replacement is horribly painful. But three months on I’m gardening again and haven’t walked with a stick for a month. Sarah says I’ve been doing far too much stuff, but it’s fine and going to plan – though it can be inexplicably painful one day and then not at all another. At some point, I’m going to have to do the other one – but only when I can fit it in, probably late 2027.”

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As well as planning his next new knee, the good news for his fans is Monty is also in discussions to continue hosting on screen Gardeners’ World until at least 2028.

Although speaking to Saga Magazine, he admits he may be closer to the end of his run than the beginning now, having been on the show since 2003, with a break between 2008 and 2011.

“I hope I’m continuing, but as I come up to the end of every contract, I seriously consider how it fits the rest of my life.” He ponders. “And each time, it’s come down fairly and squarely that I’d like to continue. But there will come a time when either they’ll say, ‘No, thanks’ or I’ll say, ‘It’s time for a change’. But neither of us, as far as I know, has reached that point yet.”

Almost all of his TV filming is done at his Herefordshire home Longmeadow, which the father-of-three shares with his wife Sarah and their two dogs; golden retriever Ned and Yorkshire terrier Patti.

“Longmeadow has a dual personality,’ admits Monty. “The compatibility between a private domestic garden for all the family and one that works for television is at best a fine line and at worst an impossible line to tread. Everything we do is heavily influenced by filming. I’m often working on the programme seven days a week and when we’re filming, it’s a place of work at every level.”

So whilst that level of work maybe ok for now, it seems there will come a time when he wants to do a bit less. Retirement completely is not on the cards though.

“I genuinely don’t know what retirement would look like. I don’t play golf or tennis, and I can’t see myself doing the crossword all day. Whenever I say to Sarah, ‘Well, thank God, I have no addictions’, she rolls her eyes and says, ‘You are completely addicted to work!’.”

Monty is also well known for being a dog lover with his faithful hounds on screen. He has lost three of his dogs in recent years – Nigel then Nellie who died in 2020 and 2023 – then Peggy who died on 24 January but thinks he is ‘good for one more at least’.

He said: “She[Peggy] was 16, very old, so while it was sad, somehow it was the right thing. She was completely deaf, 90% blind, and walking round and round in circles. So we’re down to just two dogs, Ned and Patti, the lowest number for a long time. Although I’m sure it will go up again, as there’s talk of more. I think I’m good for one more dog, at least.

“I’ve always said the deal with dogs is one of you is going to die, and with ageing it’s more likely to be you. But of course, the dog won’t care particularly, I think we completely romanticise that. They’re absolutely callous.”

* The full interview with Monty Don is in April’s Saga Magazine.

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Travis Kelce is on his way back to the NFL for a 14th season, and it was reported Monday that his destination will be a return to the Kansas City Chiefs, the only team for which he has played.

The Chiefs don’t have as much money to spend in free agency as many other teams, but Kelce, 36, is expected to turn down more lucrative offers to stay with the Chiefs, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport said.

The Chiefs have $23 million–$25 million in available salary cap space. The team created room after restructuring quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ contract, releasing veteran tackle Jawaan Taylor, and trading elite cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Rams.

Kelce, one of the most popular players in the NFL and a certain Hall of Famer, contemplated retirement after the 2025-26 season. The Chiefs cratered to a 6-11 record, losing their last six games and finishing a distant third in the AFC West behind the Denver Broncos and Chargers. They missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014.

Kelce admits to having lost a step, but he still finished with 76 receptions on 108 targets and 851 receiving yards. He was voted to the Pro Bowl for the 11th year in a row and moved up to eighth on the all-time receiving list. He has more career receptions (1,080) than any tight end besides Tony Gonzalez (1,325) and Jason Witten (1,228).

His decision to return for one more season followed weeks of discussion with Chiefs Coach Andy Reid, teammates, family and close confidantes — including his fiancé and music megastar Taylor Swift. Kelce co-hosts the popular “New Heights” podcast every Wednesday during the NFL season with his brother, former Philadelphia Eagles six-time All-Pro center Jason Kelce.

Kelce, who has made about $112 million in salary, is expected to take a pay cut and play the 2026-27 season for about $10 million. His two-year, $34.25 million contract extension expired after last season, making him a free agent.

“I just love this team,” Kelce said in January after the Chiefs’ last game. “I’m proud of the way we finished this, even though it ended the way it did. The guys still showed up and gave it their all. That’s all you can ask for, man. I’ve got so much love for this team, this organization and the people here.”

A week earlier, he admitted retirement had crossed his mind after the Chiefs’ last home game.

“A whole lot of emotions,” he told reporters. “You’ve got everybody in the world watching you. You get to go out there with the young guys on prime-time television. Young guys getting an opportunity to taste what this NFL life is like.”

Yet he also savored the moment, and hinted that he might enjoy the adulation of Chiefs fans a bit longer.

“You only get a few of those where you get to stand there and appreciate 70,000 Chiefs fans cheering for you,” he said. “I always embrace that moment.

“You feel the generations of happiness and the love [the fans] have. It’s a beautiful thing, man.”

March 7 (UPI) — Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., announced he is retiring at the end of his term and put his support behind San Diego Supervisor Jim Desmond.

Issa issued a statement Friday on social media saying he will not be seeking re-election in this year’s midterm elections.

“This decision has been on my mind for a while and I didn’t make it lightly,” Issa wrote. “First, we built the right campaign infrastructure, support has been overwhelming — including from President Trump — and our polling was unmistakable: We would win this race. But after a quarter-century in Congress — and before that, a quarter-century in business — it”s the right time for a new chapter and new challenges.”

Issa offered his “enthusiastic endorsement” to San Diego Supervisor Jim Desmond, who filed to run for Issa’s seat on Friday.

The announcement comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom‘s ballot measure to redraw state congressional districts, which passed in November, transformed Issa’s district from safely Republican to an area more friendly to Democrats.

Issa had previously been rumored to be considering a run for Congress in Texas, but he told Fox News in December that the plan would not be going forward.

“I’m thrilled to set the record straight and here’s the truth: Texas House members and residents of that state did ask if I would consider running there following Gavin Newsom’s historically corrupt gerrymander,” he said at the time. “I appreciate the opportunity, but California is my home. I told them I’m going to stay in Congress, and I don’t need to go to Texas for that.”

Anna Elsasser, spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, celebrated the news of Issa’s retirement in a statement.

“After over two decades of disastrous representation, Darrell Issa is once again running for the exits — and good riddance. Issa abandoning his voters now is the clearest sign yet that Republicans know he can’t win on his record of skyrocketing prices, gutting health care, and looking out for himself and wealthy special interests above all else,” Elsasser said. “Any Republican who tries to parachute into this race with the same extreme agenda will face the same fate.”

Christian Martinez, a spokesman for the National Republican Campaign Committee, praising Issa for his “decades of dedicated service” in a statement provided to Politico.

“We are optimistic that this district will continue to be represented by a Republican who will stand for common sense and reject the radical agenda and chaos that progressive Marni von Wilpert and socialist Ammar Campa-Najjar would bring,” Martinez said.