Alan Titchmarsh

Alan Titchmarsh MBE VMH DL was born and raised on the edge of Ilkley Moor in Yorkshire. He left school at 15 to be an apprentice gardener in the local nursery, then trained at horticultural college and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. After a spell as Supervisor of Staff Training at Kew he became a horticultural journalist, then a freelance broadcaster and writer. Alan has written gardening books, several fiction best sellers, and his memoirs. Alan has appeared on radio and television both as a gardening expert and as an interviewer and presenter. Among others, Alan’s TV credits include: BBC2's 'Gardeners' World'; 'Ground Force'; 'How To Be A Gardener'; 'The Royal Gardeners'; 'British Isles - A Natural History'; and 'The Gardener’s Year'.

Alan is a Freeman of the City of London. He was appointed MBE in the 2000 New Year Honours list, and a Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Hampshire in 2001. In 2004 he was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society's highest accolade—the Victoria Medal of Honour—for outstanding services to horticulture. He is a patron or president of more than 35 charities and organizations, as well as being the founder and trustee of Alan Titchmarsh's Gardens for Schools, which makes grants to primary schools for gardens and nature areas.

Music has always played an important part in Alan’s life. As a young boy he sang treble in the church choir, and as a young man he joined the Ilkley Amateur Operatic Society. Speaking about his Radio 2 show, Alan says: "I'm delighted to have a regular spot on Radio 2 having contributed to the station intermittently over the last 30 years. I'll be playing a mix of popular and classical music that I love, and hope that my listeners will enjoy it too."

Source: BBC Radio