frances tophill has ruled herself out of the running to replace Monty Don on Gardeners' World, saying she does not envisage taking over if he steps away. The 36-year-old has been on the programme for more than a decade, but she made clear that broadcasting is not where she sees her future.
Monty Don and Gardeners' World
“I have a huge respect for Monty – it is such a generous thing to give your garden space to the nation and he does it so well. I hope he never leaves....Broadcasting is not my day job, my day job is being a gardener,” she told The Sunday Times. That closes off one of the most discussed succession possibilities around the long-running show, where Don has been an integral figure for decades.
Tophill had already signaled her stance in an earlier Telegraph interview after standing in for Don in a 2023 episode. “That's when I got a glimpse of what being Monty must be like... I don't want that,” she said. The line is sharper than a polite no: she is not positioning herself as the natural handover choice, even after getting a turn in his role.
Frances Tophill at Chelsea
36-year-old Tophill is also working on a garden for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show with Alan Titchmarsh, Sir David Beckham and King Charles. In a statement on the King's Foundation website, she said she was “so excited” to share her first garden for the show and that there would be no man-made materials in the build, with a concrete-free construction.
She also said she had been searching for the right gnome as a nod to the King's Highgrove garden, adding, “He hides it in the stumpery for the gardeners to find.” For viewers of Gardeners' World, the practical takeaway is simple: the succession chatter is real, but Tophill is not volunteering for the job.
