Gardening guru Alan Titchmarsh has been married for the best part of 50 years and has nurtured his love as carefully as he would nurture a rose. Speaking to the Mirror about how he and his wife Alison have managed to keep their love strong for all those years, Alan said that romance is about being thoughtful.
The green-fingered Ground Force star said: "I have made Alison tea for more than 45 years – but mind you, she’s ironed my shirts every week for years, which is the greater gift."
His wife Alison is always by his side and, as a former doctor, he is in safe hands. They will celebrate their golden wedding in 2025 but when they first started out, things were very challenging as the couple, like many young couples, were short of cash, reports The Mirror.
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So much so that even a meal out was a rare treat. Things have certainly changed and they now split their time between their Grade II-listed Georgian farmhouse in Hampshire and their holiday home near Cowes on the Isle of Wight.
He gushed to Yours magazine: "I’m a lucky man, because she’s the most un-materialistic person I know.
"We never went out for dinner, we couldn't afford it. We used to save 25p a week with our butcher so we could be sure of a Christmas joint. We would try to avoid the milkman when he wanted paying."
Alan married Alison, a doctor, 48 years ago and it was around that time he picked up a trawl and a watering can for the first time.
They first met when they were both in their early 20s at an amateur dramatics group and quickly found out there was a lot in common.
Sharing daughters Polly, 41 and Camilla, 39, they are also grandparents too but his wife prefers to keep out of the spotlight. But like any couple together for so long, they have not been without their difficult times.
Alan, 74, has battled more than just a bit of backache over the years, and he has opened up on some of his painful health struggles in the past - some of which have been caused by his career.
Back in 2020 the gardening guru revealed he is taking daily pills in a bid to ward off the heart disease that killed his father and other male relatives. He is is now taking medication to lower his cholesterol levels.
He explained: “I’m on statins. I wish I wasn’t. I don’t like the thought of taking tablets every day, but I’m following my doctor’s advice. He thinks it’s a good idea.
“The thing is, the men in my family have had a tendency to die from heart disease at a relatively young age. My dad, for instance, died suddenly in 1986 from a heart attack, aged just 62.”
He also admitted he often has “blackened fingernails, lacerated arms and legs from confrontations with well-armed rose bushes, stabbing pains in the back from carrying paving slabs and large posts.”
Let's hope he cleaned himself up for a very important dinner last year. Alan dined with Charles the night before the Queen died and says 'we understand each other' after bonding for over 40 years.
He's loved by millions but of course you can't get on with all the people all the time. Tommy Walsh was a fan favourite when he appeared on Ground Force with Alan and Charlie Dimmock.
But the co-stars once had a bit of a falling out after a garden incident. While sawing timber one time, Tommy accidentally covered the flower beds in sawdust, leaving Alan fuming at his co-star.
"Call me picky if you like but I like my Ground Force gardens to be pristine when we finish them," he told Radio Times about the tiff. I do not get a thrill from seeing them covered in dandruff."
While the pair did manage to put the incident to one side, it did get a bit tense for a bit as they were both left reeling.
"For a while, it did get a bit hairy," said Tommy. "But when we'd both calmed down we actually kissed (yes) and made up. What made me cross was that I was working flat out to get everything ready and here was Alan moaning about a bit of stray sawdust."
According to Alan, the one good thing to come out of the heated exchange was that it silenced their fellow host Charlie for a few moments.
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