Frances Tophill has bravely opened up about her long struggle with dyslexia (Image: PA)
presenter Frances Tophill has bravely opened up about her long struggle with dyslexia, a condition that nearly derailed her career in television.
Despite battling the learning difficulty, which affects reading and writing, Frances has managed to carve out a successful career both on-screen and in the garden and has not let this get in the way of her career.
The star has written five books and completed a degree in horticulture with plantsmanship at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in 2013
Reflecting on how her learning difficulty shaped her journey, Frances explained: “My degree course was supportive of me doing the TV work, but they never imagined I would ever have a career in TV and it would never have occurred to me.”
Her shyness as a child only added to her hesitation about pursuing a public career: “I was really shy as a child.
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Frances has managed to carve out a successful career both on-screen and in the garden (Image: PA)
“When I was a teenager, I used to be in bands with my sisters and found it so nerve-wracking I had to give it up. If you had told me then I was going to be a TV presenter I would have said, ‘no, no, no!’”
Overcoming her personal and professional doubts wasn’t easy. Frances shared: “I was terrified when I first did it. I am still very shy. I have to channel something to do it; I have to find something internal that says it isn’t really me.”
But, despite these challenges, Frances persisted and has since flourished both on and off-screen.
Frances first ventured into television while still a university student, despite having no prior experience. She reached out to ITV’s Love Your Garden host , landing a role on the show.
Since then, her career has taken off, with appearances in Grow Your Own At Home With Alan Titchmarsh, Eat, Grow, Love, and the widely popular Gardeners’ World.
Her commitment to staying hands-on with gardening has helped Frances remain true to herself.
“I am always keen to make sure I am working for real as well. I have to book holidays when I want to go away for filming. But Gardeners’ World has been very accommodating,” she added.
But it wasn’t until she moved to Edinburgh that she truly began to embrace a more modern, community-driven approach to gardening.
“It was a classic education in Victorian-style horticulture, which was a good foundation for everything that has come since. I have now rejected that wholeheartedly, since moving to Edinburgh and seeing community gardens where everyone works together. It was a real eye-opener,” she said.