Monty Don signs off as BBC Two's Gardeners' World host after 23 years

A low-key final episode from Longmeadow

Monty Don presented his last episode of Gardeners' World on Friday, 6 November, closing a run of 23 years on BBC Two. The programme was broadcast from Longmeadow, the garden that has been the show's base for 16 years, and his golden retriever Ned stayed beside him as he spoke to viewers. The episode kept the series' usual rhythm, with a segment on pruning roses and another on wrapping up tropical trees ahead of the colder months. Don framed the broadcast around the approaching winter, and a film followed a garden designer who found comfort in her garden after the death of her husband. Viewers also received a nod to letters about how gardens had helped them through hard times. Near the end, Don recalled that a bulb lasagne, a pot of layered tulips, was the first thing he had ever made on television, back in 1989.

He closed by thanking viewers, saying:

“From myself, Ned, and Longmeadow it's the final goodbye.”

Career and the decision to leave

Don succeeded Alan Titchmarsh on the programme, although one report dates the handover to 2002 and another to 2003. Before Gardeners' World he presented Tomorrow's World and Holiday and contributed a gardening segment to This Morning. He stepped away from the series after a minor stroke in 2008, and after his return the programme was relocated to his own garden. He announced in September that he had decided it was time to stop presenting. On his own background, he once remarked:

“I was - am - an amateur gardener and a professional writer.”

Key dates

Several dated milestones frame the departure, beginning with the September announcement. The final episode then aired on Friday, 6 November, and the timeline below sets these moments in order. The two winter specials featuring him are expected to air before Christmas, with no exact air dates given so far.

What comes next

Monty Don will stay on the presenting line-up for next year's Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show. He will also feature in two of the winter specials airing between now and Christmas. One of these is a celebratory episode in which he looks back on his years presenting the series and on the changes he has seen at Longmeadow. A fuller Longmeadow retrospective has been promised around Christmas. No details of the next series have been confirmed so far. BBC Studios Natural History Unit makes the programme for BBC Two, which also streams it on BBC iPlayer, and the final episode is available to stream there.