Monty Don says he may have to let gardeners go as BBC salary contribution ends

Monty Don has said he may have to let his two gardeners go after stepping down as the presenter of Gardeners’ World.

The broadcaster, 71, revealed the BBC paid part of the salaries of the workers, who have tended his Herefordshire garden, Longmeadow, since he began hosting the show from his home in 2011.

But the corporation’s contribution is ending after Don announced his decision to leave the programme earlier this month.

Speaking at the RHS Malvern autumn flower show, Don said: “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.

Monty Don said the BBC paid part of the salaries of the workers, who have tended his garden since he began hosting the show from his home in 2011 (Yui Mok/PA) (PA Wire)

“If I’m off filming in the Rhine or India or somewhere like that, somebody has got to be getting it ready.

“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,” he said, according to The Guardian.

Don said he could not afford to pay the salaries by himself “unless we earn money” from the garden.

The presenter said he planned to think of ways to generate an income from his garden but that he would not be able to do so until the middle of 2027 at the earliest.

Although he has filmed in Longmeadow for years, Don said he would not open it up to members of the public because it was a private space.

Don will leave the horticulture programme at the end of the current series later this year (James Manning/PA) (PA Archive)

Don, who took over as lead presenter from Alan Titchmarsh, originally presented Gardeners’ World from Berryfields in Buckinghamshire. He took a three-year break from the programme after suffering a minor stroke in 2008, and the show moved to his private garden when he returned.

The broadcaster, who joined in 2003, will leave the horticulture programme at the end of the current series later this year.

Speaking about his decision to leave, Don said: “I look forward to continuing to work with and for the BBC on other projects, as well as following new avenues. There are more books to write, more programmes to make.

“And, of course, I will still be gardening, dog by side, here at Longmeadow.”