Alan Titchmarsh became emotional as he told his wife and daughters about becoming a CBE (Image: ITV)
became emotional when he told his wife and daughters that he was becoming a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the New Year Honours.
The broadcaster and gardener, 75, has been the president of Perennial, formerly the Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Society, since 2004 and is being honoured for services to horticulture and to charity.
Alan is also the president of the charity Plant Heritage, previously known as the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens (NCCPG), whose patron is the King.
Speaking to the PA news agency, the presenter admitted he was “thrilled to bits” by the honour, having spent the last 25 years as an MBE.
Alan confessed there was a “teary moment” when he told his wife Alison and two daughters about the CBE, adding: “I’ve been an MBE for 25 years, so I kind of thought that was… I’ve been very happy with that.”
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Alan has been married to Alison since 1975 (Image: Getty)
He added: “Thrilled to bits, surprised, but thrilled and honoured that I should be thought worth a CBE, flattered beyond belief.”
Alan has been happily married to Alison since 1975 and the couple share two daughters; Polly born in 1980, and Camilla, born in 1982. In 2023, the former Ground Force host opened up about his long-lasting marriage, admitting there is no “easy answer” on how to make it work.
“I’m always asked the secret to a long marriage, but there’s no easy answer. Shared values, a sense of humour,” he told Saga Magazine.
Alan added: “Yes, you fall in love, but love can be transitory. What really keeps you together is liking each other… being great friends and companions.”
The former Gardeners’ World presenter reflected on their humble beginnings during an interview with Talking to Yours magazine in 2023.
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The couple share two daughters (Image: Getty)
Expressing his gratitude, the best-selling novelist gushed: “I’m a lucky man, because she’s the most un-materialistic person I know.”
Alan shared more details about how he met Alison, revealing he took a liking to his friend’s wife first.
“I pursued her. But we got on very well, we were always very comfortable. We had a couple of friends who were together in the operatic as well,” he said on a podcast with Gyles Brandreth.
“In fact I asked my friend Steve’s now wife – they’ve just celebrated their golden wedding – I asked her out first, on Thursday. She said, ‘Oh I can’t do tonight, it’s the night I wash my hair’.”
Alan chuckled and hinted that he thought the hair washing appointment was only an excuse, adding: “It’s a classic that, wasn’t it. All right. I’ve never been particularly persistent.
“Anyway, we all used to go out together in a group. Alison was sort of there, we sort of got on, I thought she was really rather special.”