Monty Don reflects on 'difficult year' as presenter's final Gardeners' World episode draws near

Monty Don has opened up about the “difficult year” he's faced as he prepares for his final Gardeners’ World episode.

Last month, the 71-year-old revealed he would be leaving the popular BBC show at the end of its current series.

Monty Don will be leaving the show next month

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Speaking to the Radio Times about his garden at Longmeadow in Herefordshire, where has presented from since 2011, Don revealed it has been a challenging year in light of the heatwaves.

“But gardeners learn, adapt and shift,” he reflected.

“There have been silver linings, and figs are one of them.”

Don will make his final appearance on Gardener’s World on November 6, before the series picks up again in early 2027.

Monty Don reflected on the summer of heatwaves

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However, Frost has suggested that there could be multiple presenters in a shake-up of the show’s format. “My gut says that when his lordship hangs up his trowel, it won't be any one person. There will be a small group of co-presenters,” he told The Sunday Times.

The 71-year-old said he was leaving the long-running show after a difficult year that saw the death of his beloved dog Patti and his “horribly painful” surgery.

Monty Don has hosted the show for 23 years

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Speaking on his upcoming departure, he said: “I have decided that the current series of Gardeners’ World is to be my last. I began hosting the programme 23 years ago, first at Berryfields and for the past 16 years here in my own garden, Longmeadow.

"Throughout that time - and around seven hundred programmes - I have had the privilege of sharing my own abiding passion for gardens and gardening with an equally passionate, and often equally knowledgeable audience.

“But now is the right time for a change. 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."