Alan Titchmarsh: getting the chop from Chelsea flower show hurt
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Version 0 of 1. Alan Titchmarsh has admitted he was hurt by the BBC's decision to sideline him in its coverage of this year's Chelsea flower show, which will return at the weekend without him for the first time in 30 years. The former Gardeners' World presenter said he was made "an offer I had to refuse" by BBC management, who decided to replace him as the programme's main presenter with Monty Don. Titchmarsh, who is also stepping down from his ITV chatshow, said he avoided "jealousy and bitterness", but admitted: "Yes, I suppose I was hurt, because I know people enjoy you doing it as much as I loved doing it. "But they probably felt it was time for a change and may well be right," he told the new issue of Radio Times. "Was I dumped for Monty Don? You might say that. I couldn't possibly comment. I don't feel dumped." Titchmarsh was offered a lesser role in the BBC's coverage but declined. "They made me an offer I had to refuse," he said. "It's up to them. I'm not bitter. I was disappointed but I'm not a grudge bearer. You have to move on. Nobody owes you a living. I'm still gainfully employed. My days aren't empty." Titchmarsh caused controversy last year with remarks about "whingeing" older female presenters. Explaining his comments, he told the listings magazine: "If you're going to make noises about not being employed, you have to be absolutely sure it is down to ageism rather than the fact that you're not very good." The presenter, 65, who will front a new ITV series, Britain's Best Gardens, said: "I don't think I'd be confident enough to say, 'They've stopped me doing this because I'm too old', because my inner voice would be saying, 'No, they've stopped you doing it, love, because you're not terribly good any more.'" Titchmarsh will still be at Chelsea, having created a Royal Horticultural Society garden, and the BBC has booked him for an interview to talk about his creation for the Britain In Bloom scheme. "I'm not one for strops. I'm not being holier than thou, it's just not an attractive thing to do," he said. "I wasn't going to say, 'No, push off' [to the interview]. I don't want to appear churlish, because I'm not." Titchmarsh, who was also succeeded by Don when he left Gardeners' World in 2002, added: "He's passionate and he gets through to a lot of people. We have different audiences. Good luck to him. I'm not going to slag him off." Titchmarsh said he had been invited to take part in BBC1's celebrity dance show Strictly Come Dancing, "but you have to devote three months to it". He added: "Jealousy eats you away. There's no point. Leave it behind. We've all got problems, had tragedies in our lives. I don't see any point in whingeing. "There's so much self-analysis now … the cult of personality … but fame is a by-product, not a goal. What drives me is contentment, satisfaction and stimulation, and the avoidance of jealousy and bitterness. Those things don't achieve anything." The BBC's coverage of the Chelsea flower show begins on BBC2 on Sunday. Newsreader Sophie Raworth, who will present the slot Titchmarsh turned down, said: "The fact that I'm doing it has nothing to do with the fact that he isn't. I wasn't approached to do the show until he decided to step away from the BBC coverage. It's a real honour." |