Alan Titchmarsh shares expletive four-word response after call from ITV bosses

He’s presented a huge range of TV shows, from Gardeners’ World to Songs of Praise, but Alan Titchmarsh is no great fan of modern TV. He recalled the moment he was invited to appear on one particular celebrity dancing contest, and gave a very forthright answer.

The 75-year-old Yorkshireman told The Times that he turns down “most years,” and added: “Some years ago I was asked to go on Dancing on Ice.

“I remember taking the call from my agent. I don’t swear often, but I thought it was worth an expletive: ‘Dancing on Ice? I’m sixty-f***ing-eight!’”

He says he’s come a long way from his first job as an apprentice gardener with Ilkley Council: “I’m a plumber’s son who left school with one O-level, in art,” he says.

“Nothing got handed to me on a plate. There are days when I struggle to work out how that plumber’s son ended up where he is today. Lucky enough to be on good terms with King Charles and Queen Camilla —they are great company.”

Alan adds that he’s always had a great relationship with his wife too: “I married someone who is very tolerant of how much I talk about gardening. I’m sure it drives her mad, but she never lets it show,” he jokes.

Alan married his wife Alison in 1975 and they have two daughters, both of whom now have children themselves.

Expanding on the subject of how patient Alison is, Alan says that he’s a great believer in tolerance – and that it’s a quality that’s in short supply these days: “Exposing yourself to different views — obviously, I’m not talking about things like out-and-out racism — is part of life.

“That’s what really upsets me about places like Oxford and Cambridge, the supposed apogee of educational acuity, this “non-platforming” of people whose views don’t accord 100 per cent with yours. How on earth are you supposed to work out what you believe?”