Monty Don and leaving GW - disappointing interview

[LaughterintheRains]

Has anyone else heard or read his interview about how he plans to leave GW?
I feel differently about him now. He's clearly not enjoying it- referring to the 'relentless treadmill' of it. But it's only 6 months of the year anyway and for the rest of the time, he's giving talks on cruises, writing books and making TV progs in faraway places.

I guess what I'm saying is he gives the impression each week of enjoying the programme, yet now he's said he is a bit fed up with it. So I don't feel the same about him anymore.

He also said they needed a new presenter, ideally female, with a more diverse background, not Oxbridge educated, middle class male. I think that's discriminatory at best (should be the best person for the job) but also, his predecessor was Alan Titchmarsh who didn't go to any uni (but trained in horticulture. )

He was evidently pissed off when Don got the job as a 'non-expert hobbyist gardener'. And before that, Geoff Hamilton was not Oxbridge.

I've always had a lot of time for MD (and his MH struggles) but this time I think he's talking out of his and it won't be the same watching the next series knowing he doesn't really want to be doing it.

No thanks. GB news is shite.

Here come all the frothing racists! Don’t worry dears although everyone in ads is brown these days the actual owners of companies, the senior execs in advertising and the BBC etc are all white and privileged.

Its not an fair race for minorities so do FO all you I don’t see colour, tick boxes, racism card, positive discrimination is racist DM fools.

It sounds as though you are actually disappointed he and his garden are real, a person in his home, rather than the reality- he’s a character on a set, albeit one based on real life.

please let it be a middle class white bloke.

There corrected it for you.

Typical response. Everyone who disagrees must be a Daily Mail/racist/brexiteer etc.

Tedious

Pathetic

Adam Frost would be my choice too. He was apprenticed to Geoff Hamilton, and has the same relaxed, down to earth demeanor. He also has cats, like Geoff, and his wife does lots of the filming, and he has kids. Right age, not upper class, really nice guy, with a solid background in horticulture.

Did he say that GW has been presented by Oxbridge types? I don't recall that he did. My understanding is that he was saying that people from his private school, Oxbridge background can experience life with a level of privilege that others don't. For him, GW might be one example of that.

When I read it I thought he was talking about who would take over, and he was saying that it would be hard today to find someone who wasn’t from an extremely privileged background who could also afford a private garden with as much acreage as Longmeadow, which is the traditional GW presenter (a person, usually a bloke, with a big enough plot of land that they own themselves). So in the future whoever they get would mean the show might need to change format - regardless. It was less ‘GW presenters have all been Oxbridge’ and more ‘anyone who can afford a big garden these days probably is extremely privileged and probably that’s not going to do much for diversity quotas’. Which is true.

I can understand Monty wanting to step down. The filming schedule is probably full on particularly at his age. Maybe he just wants to go back to enjoying gardening. I'd love Frances to take over. She's a qualified horticulturist and a conservationist.

He also spends time off filming helping to organise, plan and landscape the gardens at his local Hospice alongside the cruises.
Hopefully he’ll have more time for pursuits like that with retirement which will most likely be more enjoyable than a filming schedule.

Thanks for this @MeinKraft - I think seeing the wider context of his comments changes this considerably from how the OP described it. His words seem really insightful to me.

Here’s the interview I read: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/nov/06/im-a-sex-symbol-that-makes-me-embarrassed-monty-don-on-love-class-and-his-future-on-gardeners-world

I'm no particular monty fan (he's OK like) but I can quite imagine a weekly show is a grind, especially at 68, and would suck enjoyment out of it.

I think in order to bust the middle class man thing GW need to invest in their own patch, insert a presenter into it and we can see how the gardens change as each one comes in.

My vote would be Adam, I know he's not brown but he's nice and calm and I like the hamilton connection; seems more into gardening than fame which is nice.

@LaughterintheRains " I think it's discriminatory to rule certain people in or out because of their colour or background."

Yep. Oxbridge educated middle class white men have a real struggle getting on in the media world.

OP "However, to call it a 'relentless treadmill' does give the viewers the idea he's just not enjoying it any more."

he probably isn't. Criticising him for honesty that doesn't harm anyone seems mad.

I don't think it's fair to keep accusing me of misunderstanding what he said. I completely understand.

As he has a year to go, it suggests his final year of presenting will be done grudgingly. That's all. It implied he was fed up.

I completely 'get' his desire to do other stuff and the reasons why.

I didn't know until recently that he also has a farm in the Black Mountains and in reality he spends little time at Longmeadow, (where others do the gardening) apart from filming the show.

@CurlewKate You're behind the times. The discrimination goes the other way. All media adverts are for people from diverse backgrounds.

But that's another topic.

Alan Titchmarsh and Geoff Hamilton were down to earth northerners who'd never been to uni,

NoSquirrels I agree, I was attempting to reflect other comments on the thread suggesting it was a wrong of him to say that GW presenters are Oxbridge graduates (which as far as I know he didn't). It was a radio piece I was thinking of, not that Guardian interview (although when someone's doing the promotional media round, they say pretty similar things in all of them - there's only so many ways to rephrase the same idea).

Frances shows that a small private garden, an allotment and her work garden can provide enough interest for the programmes where she is the lead or joint-lead, I'd like to see her as the main presenter some day.

I’m amazed (and pleased) he’s gone on as long as he has since he had a stroke 11/12 years ago.

He’s always been honest in interviews and I imagine keeping the garden TV-ready must be tiring, even with all the help they have.

I find it amusing that the whole country call him Monty whereas his family call him by his actual name, Montagu

Given his age, it was very unlikely he'd continue for much longer. In the interview I read, he says "It will come to an end sometime in the next three, four or five years. It depends on circumstances and what else I’m doing.... I’m now 68, I was going to stop when I was 65. I’ll now go on till I’m 70 and then reconsider." Sounds fair enough to me. As does his comment about more diversity.

I think in future GW may well have a couple of regular presenters rather than just one. I really like Frances and Adam, but I doubt either of them would want to take it on alone. It is a huge task, increasingly so nowadays as the series goes on for longer, and slots are an hour not 30 minutes like in the past.

I’ve just read the article and he says,

“To complain about anything is not just churlish, but it also undermines other people who have a much tougher time. But the garden certainly helps. There’s no magic in this – it’s being outside, it’s doing something … I always say to people, if you’re feeling bad, do a tiny little simple thing.”

He didn’t come across as remotely ungrateful to me, rather the reverse!

But the reality is that tv programmes take exhaustingly long hours to make, and Monty’s no longer young, he suffers from seasonal depression and, although he recovered well from it, he has had a serious stroke. It’s no surprise to anyone that he will be stepping down soon.

A lot of tv presenters come across as quite strident and full on and that’s because it takes someone with massive energy to withstand the schedule and come out smiling. Monty manages to be humble, knowledgeable and calm, and this is pure speculation, but I imagine it must take a lot out of him to remain that way in the face of a lot of tv nonsense! I will be very sad to see him go.

I much prefer Frances Topsoil Tophill anyway and have wanted her to be main presenter for ages.

I've always seen MD as a TV presenter with a gardening specialism rather than a gardening expert. He used to be a jeweller. Klein and Tophill are much better experts IMO.

They've clearly been setting Monty up to retire for some time now, and at his age who can blame him. Even if it's not all year, those months must indeed be relentless - and even in closed season, everything he does in his garden will need to have the show in mind.

It seems that they have been lining Adam up to take the lead for more than a year now. My suspicion is that he will be the nominal lead presenter, but it will continue as they have been now - people taking other substantial slots, lots of use of viewer videos (which I love). Yes, a lot of those people 'tick boxes', but they are all superb presenters in their own right, so what can be wrong with that?

The lady with the northern (Lancashire) accent, Carol Klein? is very knowledgeable and a good clear speaker.

Carol is - unbelievably! - 78 herself, she won't be lining up to take it on.

It would be nice, actually, if Monty became one of the 'back up' occasional presenters, just showing particular projects.

Carol or Frances. Be nice to see a woman with good knowledge and calm presence have the spotlight on GW.

Can't stand Adam. He makes me think of a used car salesman.

We always narrate over the top of him 'look at these lovely rocks that fell off the back of a passing lorry ' Sorry Adam, no offence lad.

Love Monty but I can see why he'd like to go low key at 68. He's done his fair share, and probably wants his lovely garden back to a private Eden.

Me and my lovely allotment are ready to step into the breach though I have more of a face for radio.

I could see DH presenting, he actually is a gardener professionally, and handsome, if I do say so myself.

His hallmark is leaving his shears/pruning tools/gloves/trowels in people's gardens. He is a bit forgetful. So every episode we'd have to get people to do a Where's Wally? type feature, drone going over the plot until you spot the missing gardening tool of the week.