Former Gardeners’ World host Monty Don has revealed that he needs to find a way to pay his gardeners after leaving the show as the BBC partly funded their salaries.
The horticulturist, 71, began presenting Gardeners’ World in 2003 and has since presented a number of other similar shows for the BBC, which tend to feature his Herefordshire garden, known as Longmeadow.
In September, the longtime host revealed that he was stepping down from Gardeners’ World after over two decades as head gardener, meaning that the show would no longer be set at Longmeadow.
Speaking for the first time since the announcement at the RHS Malvern autumn flower show this weekend, Don revealed that the BBC contributed to the salaries of two of his full-time gardeners since he began hosting it from his garden in 2011.
“I have had two full-time gardeners, and have had them since I have been on Gardeners’ World, and from day one it’s been in my BBC contract that I have to have two full-time gardeners,” he said, adding that it was their job to make sure the garden looked camera-ready.
“If I’m off filming in the Rhine or India or somewhere like that, somebody has got to be getting it ready,” 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.
“They are a great team and we all work together really well. 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.”
When announcing his exit earlier this month, Don said that connecting with millions “who share a love of gardens, plants and the natural world” through the show has been something he’s “always treasured” and that he was looking forward to working with the BBC on other projects as well as “following new avenues”.
“There are more books to write, more programmes to make,” he continued. “And of course, I will still be gardening, dog by side, here at Longmeadow.”
Throughout his time on the show, Don had been open about his struggles with grief and depression, and how “the power of the natural world” was beneficial to his mental health.
The BBC’s chief content office Katie Phillips said in a statement that she was “very sad” to see him go, thanking him for his “honesty and kindness” around mental health issues.
