BBC Gardeners' World stars now – sudden death, cancer and 'message from the grave'

BBC programme Gardeners’ World has delighted viewers for more than six decades since its first broadcast on January 5, 1968.

The series has inspired a generation to get dirty and try their hand in the garden, inspiring a generation of keen gardeners including Alan Titchmarsh.

Alan would later become a host on the programme too, following in the footsteps of Percy Thrower and Geoff Hamilton – to name a few.

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Now hosted by Monty Don, and with appearances by famous faces including Rachel De Thame, Gardeners World has made household names of its stars.

Here, Daily Star takes a look at where some of the stars of Gardeners’ World are now.

Percy Thrower

Percy Thrower was one of the original Gardeners’ World presenters, with the star appearing on the programme between 1969 to 1976.

Gardening was always on the cards for Percy, after he aimed to take after his father and follow in his footsteps as head gardener for Horwood House in Buckinghamshire.

He also worked at the Royal Gardens in Windsor, before moving into Radio and TV to present programmes including Country Calendar, Out and About and BBC’s Gardening Club.

Following his Gardeners World fame, the star also appeared on The Morecambe and Wise Show, The Benny Hill Show and became the gardener on children’s TV favourite Blue Peter between 1974 to 1987.

He also hosted horticultural tours across Europe and established The Percy Thrower Floral Tours Company.

Percy’s career also brought romance too, as he married Connie Cook, the daughter of Charles Cook, who worked as the head gardener at Sandringham.

Together, the couple had three daughters called Margaret, Susan and Ann.

However, it is reported that Percy underwent a heart bypass operation in 1987, from which he did not recover.

He later died on March 18, 1988 at the age of 75 years old, just one week after recording his last Blue Peter segment before retiring.

Geoff Hamilton

Geoff Hamilton was another long-standing Gardeners’ World presenter, after hosting the programme between 1979 to 1996.

The star originally worked as a self-employed landscape gardener and opened up his own garden center, before becoming a journalist for Practical Gardening Magazine in 1975.

From there it was onwards and upwards, with Geoff presenting a number of programmes including Gardening Diary, and helping in the creation of The Cottage Garden and The Paradise Garden – to name a few.

In his personal life, Geoff was married to his wife Lynda, with who he had three children.

However, the star suffered a sudden heart attack in 1995, leading him to take three months off work to recover.

One year later during a charity bike ride, Geoff suffered another heart attack that proved to be fatal, and the star died on August 4, 1996 at the age of 59 years old.

Following his death, stars and friends paid tribute to the beloved presenter, including Tony Laryea, whose company Catalyst was awarded the contract to produce Gardeners’ World.

He said: “Geoff had a genuine love of gardening: it came out of every pore, and he was able to communicate it effectively because he was an ordinary bloke.

“He wasn’t pretentious. He had a no- nonsense approach and an authority that came through his knowledge. You saw it and you believed it.”

On the 20th anniversary of his death, his former co-star Adam Frost also revealed that he made a joke about a ballcock from toilet that Geoff had painted on a plant support in a cottage garden he built – and this led to an eerie co-incidence on set.

He told Daily Express: “I said [to the camera] when would you ever think that you were ever going to find inspiration by going into your toilet, lifting up the system and looking at a ballcock and thinking that would look fantastic on top of a plant support.

“Just as I said that, I put my hand on top of this [plant support] and I got stung by a wasp. It was really weird. It was like, ‘Alright Geoff, I was only joking – I was being nice. I honestly wasn’t taking the mickey’.”

Alan Titchmarsh

Alan Titchmarsh is a TV icon, having fronted Gardeners’ World between 1996 to 2002.

After working as a gardening journalist and writer for companies such as Hamlyn Publishing, Alan broke into TV by appearing on Nationwide as a horticulture expert.

He later presented the Chelsea Flower Show, before hosting Pebble Mill between 1991 to 1996, and most famously, Ground Force between 1997 to 2005.

Since then, Alan has presented segements for Radio, as well as hosting programmes such as Secrets of The National Trust, Britain’s Best Back Gardens and game show, Masterpiece.

Alan was also a close friend of the late monarch Queen Elizabeth II, with the two meeting many times throughout her reign.

They first met when Alan presented TV coverage of The Chelsea Flower show, where he had designed a “country kitchen”, with the gardener sharing memories of his many meetings with The Queen in the years since – including being honoured with an MBE in 2000.

Reflecting on time spent with The Queen, Alan shared memories of his meetings with the monarch with BBC Gardeners’ World, saying: “I had the pleasure of sitting next to her at lunch on a couple of occasions and found her conversation to be relaxed, surprisingly opinionated and well laced with humour.”

He also recalled a sweet moment in 2014 when The Queen told Alan that she was reading his book, The Queens Houses, which included information about Sandringham.

Alan said that the Queen paid him a beautiful compliment, saying: “I’m reading about Sandringham. I didn’t know all that. Fascinating.”

Speaking about the moment, he said: “I blush to repeat the compliment, but it perfectly illustrates The Queen’s kindness and her willingness to put everyone she met at ease.”

In his personal life, Alan has been married to his wife Alison since 1975 and they have two children together.

Rachel De Thame

Rachel De Thame has presented Gardeners’ World since 1998, and still makes the occasional appearance on the beloved programme.

However, her career could have taken an entirely different path, after she studied ballet professionally at the Royal Ballet School, before deciding to study drama at Southgate College.

From there, she worked as a successful model, before landing roles in the mini series Merlin, as well as the film Bodywork.

Her love for gardening was clear though, after inheriting the interest from her father, and she chose to pursue her interest by studying at the English Gardening School, before landing her role on Gardeners’ World.

From there she has co-presented the BBC’s annual coverage of the Chelsea Flower Show, as well as writing a number of gardening books and appearing on TV series including Going For A Song and Gardening with The Experts.

In her personal life, the star has been married twice – first to Stephen Colover between 1986 to 1993, with who she had two children.

Rachel also shares two children with husband Gerard De Thame, who she married in 1999.

The star has also spoken openly about being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018, after fans noticed her absence from Gardeners’ World.

Speaking during the broadcast of The Chelsea Flower Show, Rachel said: “I haven’t been hiding, but I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the beginning of the year and so I have been undergoing treatment for that.

“I’m doing well and coming towards the end of it.

“It’s caught early so that’s all very positive, so on the whole it’s better not to be working too much just now.”

Arit Anderson

Arit Anderson is another star to make regular appearances on Gardeners’ World – but did you know that she worked in a completely different career before landing her big break?

The gardener worked as a pharmacy technician, before pursuing a career in the fashion industry for more than 25 years.

However in 2013, she won the RHS Fresh Talent Award at the Chelsea Flower Show – and the rest as they say, is history.

Since then, Arit has appeared on programmes including Garden Rescue, alongside Alan Titchmarsh’s former co-star Charlie Dimmock.

She also writes for Gardeners’ World Magazine, and regularly shares tips and stunning snaps on her Instagram page.

Away from the limelight, Arit is also married to her husband Scott, and is step mum to his two children, Harvey and Freya.

It seems their children have taken after Arit too, after they made a sweet appearance on Gardeners’ World to talk about what they were growing in the garden.

Freya said: “I’ve been planting quite a lot lately, for example I’ve been planting potatoes, onions and cucumber. Planting the vegetables was really lovely because I’ve never done it before.”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk