Alan Fred Titchmarsh (born 2 May 1949) is an English gardener, author and broadcaster. After working as a professional gardener and a horticultural journalist, he became a radio and television presenter and a novelist.
Early career Alan Fred Titchmarsh was born on 2 May 1949 in Ilkley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. He is the son of Bessie (née Hardisty), a textile mill worker, and Alan Titchmarsh senior, a plumber. In 1964, after leaving school at 15, with one O-level in Art, Titchmarsh went to work as an apprentice gardener with Ilkley Council, attending day release classes at Shipley Art and Technology Institute in Shipley in the West Riding of Yorkshire studying for a City and Guilds qualification in horticulture.
In 1968, Titchmarsh went on to study at Hertfordshire College of Agriculture and Horticulture for the National Certificate in Horticulture, before finally moving to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in 1969 to study for a Diploma in Horticulture. After graduating he stayed on at Kew for two years, employed as gardens supervisor in charge of staff training. He left to pursue a career in gardening journalism in 1974. Interested in English literature and writing, he applied for a post with the Hamlyn publishing group, as assistant editor of gardening books. He then started to write his own gardening books, with the first, Starting With Houseplants, being published in 1976.
Television and radio In 1977, Titchmarsh began his career in broadcasting as a gardening expert on BBC Radio 4 You and Yours and The Today Programme. Titchmarsh's first television appearances were on the BBC television shows Nationwide and Breakfast Time as a horticulture expert. This led to his presenting of the Chelsea Flower Show for BBC television in 1983. Titchmarsh hosted this every year until 2013.
In 1986, Titchmarsh hosted Open Air and from 1987, the BBC television talk shows Daytime Live and Pebble Mill, which he did until 1996. In 1991, he presented a six part series, Titchmarsh's Travels, in which he followed in the footsteps of the pilgrims, travelling around Britain and Ireland.
In 1996, Titchmarsh took over as host of Gardeners' World, the show being filmed in his own garden. In 1997, he hosted the BBC One television series Ground Force, in which he and fellow presenters Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Walsh would perform a makeover on a garden, he left in 2002. After Gardeners' World, Titchmarsh presented two series of How to Be a Gardener.
Away from gardening, Titchmarsh had spells presenting Songs of Praise as well as two BBC nature documentary series, British Isles – A Natural History and The Nature of Britain
Titchmarsh voiced the title character in Gordon the Garden Gnome, a cartoon series for the CBeebies channel.
He hosted the 20th Century Roadshow, a 2005 spin-off series from Antiques Roadshow; performed in the 2006 Children's Party at the Palace for the Queen's 80th birthday; and guest hosted an episode of The Paul O'Grady Show. In 2007, Titchmarsh hosted The Great British Village Show. He also presented the afternoon ITV chat show The Alan Titchmarsh Show (2007–2014) and in 2006 was given a permanent slot on BBC Radio 2 on Sunday evenings with the show Melodies for You.
In 2010, Titchmarsh presented the first series of Popstar to Operastar with Myleene Klass. From 2011 to 2023, he presented the gardening show Love Your Garden. In June 2012, he presented Elizabeth: Queen, Wife, Mother on ITV. In August 2011, Titchmarsh left Radio 2. Since January 2012, he has hosted a Saturday morning and now Saturday afternoon show on Classic FM.
In 2013, Titchmarsh was a reporter on the BBC Two programme The Great British Winter. In the same year, he responded to complaints that older women were discriminated against on television by stating he would like to hear less "whingeing". "They don't complain in their early days when they are disporting themselves on sports cars," he stated in an interview with The Observer. This drew criticism from media figures who had been protesting against the difficulties faced by older women in the media, including from Miriam O'Reilly, winner of an age discrimination case against the BBC. In 2014, he presented The Queen's Garden, a two-part series for ITV that was filmed over one year. In 2015, Titchmarsh presented Britain's Best Back Gardens. From 2016 to 2017, he presented the game show Masterpiece for ITV. In 2017, the Channel Five programme Secrets of the National Trust started airing with Alan Titchmarsh as the main presenter.
In March 2024, it was widely reported in the UK press that Titchmarsh's trousers were censored on Korean Central Television (North Korea television). Titchmarsh was wearing jeans in Alan Titchmarsh's Garden Secrets, and jeans are banned in North Korea as they are considered a sign of western imperialism. Speaking to the BBC, Titchmarsh said the news had given him "a bit of street cred".
Writing Titchmarsh has written for newspapers and magazines for more than fifty years and has written more than seventy books, including books on the countryside and the royal family. His first book was published in 1979; twenty years later, he branched out into fiction. His first novel was Mr MacGregor in 1998. He has written a dozen novels. Trowel & Error (2002) was an autobiographical work, followed by Nobbut a Lad: A Yorkshire Childhood (2006), and then Knave of Spades (2009) and When I Was A Nipper (2010).
Titchmarsh has also published a series of gardening guides, the How to Garden series (2009 onwards).
Personal life Titchmarsh married Alison in 1975 and they have two children. In 2002 he and his wife moved into a grade II listed Georgian Hampshire farmhouse, with a garden of . He also has a coastal home, near Cowes on the Isle of Wight, where he spends about a third of the year.
Titchmarsh is a bell ringer. In 2011, he rang a quarter peal in Holybourne, Hampshire, to celebrate the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. Also in 2011, he participated in an Elm Tree Planting Ceremony to promote urban greening in London. He returned to the Marylebone and Fitzrovia area to plant a project's 1000th new tree in 2022.
Political views Titchmarsh is a monarchist. He was reported to have commented favourably on the UK Independence Party's Nigel Farage in 2013 and in 2014, saying he had "some sympathy with the clarion wake-up call they’re trying to give the country". During a 2017 interview in support of a refugee charity, he clarified: "I said I could understand why he captured the public's imagination. He articulated a lot of people's thoughts. But I didn't vote for Brexit. I think we should all stick together."
In 2014, Titchmarsh was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian, expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue.
Honours and awards Titchmarsh was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2000 New Year Honours for services to horticulture and broadcasting, and was promoted to Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2025 New Year Honours for services to horticulture and to charity He was made a Deputy Lieutenant (DL) of the County of Hampshire in 2001. In 2008, Titchmarsh served as High Sheriff of the Isle of Wight.
In 1999, Titchmarsh was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science (Hon DSc) degree by the University of Bradford. He was made Patron of Writtle College, a university college in Essex, in 2001 and had a building named after him at the college in 2011 (the "Titchmarsh Centre for Animal Studies"). In 2004, he was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society's Victoria Medal of Honour, the highest award the RHS can bestow. In 2007 he was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Winchester, and in 2015 was designated as the Chancellor of the university, a post he held until 2022. He was honoured by the City of Westminster at a tree planting and plaque ceremony in 2011 and 2022. Among numerous other awards, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Garden Media Guild in 2004 and made an Honorary Fellow of the Society for the Environment in 2014.
Bibliography Non-fiction Gardening Under Cover, 1979 () Guide to Greenhouse Gardening, 1980 () Climbers and Wall Plants, 1980 () Hamlyn Guide to House Plants, 1982 () The Allotment Gardener's Handbook, 1982 () How to be a Supergardener, 1983 () Creating Garden Pools, 1984 () The Gardener's Year, 2005 () Fill My Stocking, 2005 () The Complete How to Be a Gardener, 2005 () British Isles a Natural History, 2005 () England, Our England, 2007 () The Nature of Britain, 2007 () The Kitchen Gardener – Grow Your Own Fruit & Veg, 2008 () How to Garden: Gardening in the Shade, 2009 () How to Garden: Vegetables and Herbs, 2009 () How to Garden: Container Gardening, 2009 () How to Garden: Garden Design, 2009 () How to Garden: Lawns, Paths and Patios, 2009 () How to Garden: Pruning and Training, 2009 () How to Garden: Growing Fruit, 2010 () How to Garden: Flowering Shrubs, 2010 () How to Garden: Climbers and Wall Shrubs, 2010 () How to Garden: Greenhouse Gardening, 2010 () How to Garden: Perennial Garden Plants, 2010 () How to Garden: Wildlife Gardening, 2011 () How to Garden: Growing Bulbs, 2011 () How to Garden: Pests and Problems, 2011 () How to Garden: Growing Roses, 2011 () How to Garden: Small Gardens, 2011 () How to Garden: Small Trees, 2012 () How to Garden: Weekend Gardening, 2012 () My Secret Garden, 2012, BBC Books (ISBN 978-1-44814-134-0) How to Garden: Instant Colour, 2012 () How to Garden: Allotment Gardening, 2012 () How to Garden: Grow Your Own Plants, 2013 () How to Garden: Water Gardening, 2013 () How to Garden: Flowers and Foliage for Cutting, 2013 () Tales From Titchmarsh, 2011 () Elizabeth: Her Life, Our Times, Ebury Press 2012 () The Queen's Houses, BBC Books 2014 () Lost Skills and Crafts Handbook: A Guide to the Old Ways of Country Life Hardcover, BBC Books 2021 () Chatsworth: The Gardens and the People Who Made Them, Ebury Publishing 2023 ()
Memoirs Trowel and Error, Hodder & Stoughton 2002 () Nobbut A Lad : A Yorkshire Childhood, Hodder & Stoughton 2006 () Knave of Spades, Hodder & Stoughton 2009 () Collected memoirs, Hodder & Stoughton 2016 ()
Fiction Mr MacGregor, Simon & Schuster 1998 () The Last Lighthouse Keeper, Simon & Schuster 1999 () Animal Instincts, Simon & Schuster 2000 () Only Dad, Simon & Schuster 2001 () Rosie, Simon & Schuster () Love and Dr. Devon, Simon & Schuster () Folly, Hodder & Stoughton 2008 () The Haunting, Hodder & Stoughton 2011 () Bring Me Home, Hodder & Stoughton 2014 () Mr Gandy's Grand Tour, Hodder & Stoughton 2016 () The Scarlet Nightingale, Hodder Paperbacks 2019 () The Gift, Hodder & Stoughton 2022 ()
Poetry Marigolds, Myrtle and Moles: A Gardener's Bedside Book, Hodder & Stoughton 2020 ()
Filmography