Will Kirk said Alan Titchmarsh contacted him last year after he was “desperately struggling” with his garden. The Repair Shop star, 41, lives in Surrey with his wife Polly, and the offer came from a neighbourly connection rather than a TV set or studio deal.
“Alan Titchmarsh lives nearby and offered to come and take a look, but I told him I'd get it to a decent level first, then he can advise me on flowers and plants,” Kirk said to House Beautiful last year. The line reads less like celebrity chat and more like a home project that has been slow enough to need outside expertise.
Surrey Garden, Not London Balcony
Kirk’s move out of London gives the story its shape. After 39 years in London, he relocated to the countryside a couple of years ago, and he has said The Repair Shop was the main reason behind the move. That leaves him with a larger plot, a very different workload, and none of the simplicity of the balcony he once had, where he said he kept “some dying plants.”
He has described the outdoor space as a work in progress, and the problem is not just aesthetics. Kirk said the previous occupants installed a hot tub in the garden, which left a big brown patch on the lawn, while one of his neighbours’ plants keeps growing over the fence and strangling his roses. He has been out there every week cutting them back and trying to breathe life into the grass.
Why Alan Titchmarsh Offered
Kirk’s connection to Titchmarsh is practical, not promotional. He said he had been looking online at Titchmarsh’s videos on how to sow seeds, then later told him during a 2025 appearance on Love Your Weekend, “I've been doing a lot of gardening. I've been looking online at a lot of your videos on how to sow seeds and things like that. You make it look very easy!”
That exchange puts the offer in context: Kirk was already trying to fix the garden himself before turning to the person most associated with advice on plants and flowers. He also said his wife was “very firm” that they should start with the inside of the house before painting the front door and gardening, but he went straight to the garden.
What Happens Around Sunday Night
Kirk will be back on screen on The Chase Celebrity Special on Sunday night at 7pm on ITV1 and ITVX. For viewers, the garden story adds a specific off-camera detail to a familiar TV name: a presenter who is still working through a move to the countryside, one patch of lawn at a time.
The open question is not whether Kirk has help available; it is how quickly he can get the plot to the “decent level” he said he wants before taking Titchmarsh up on the advice. Right now, the practical edge of the story is simple: Kirk has the offer, the garden still needs work, and he sounds ready to accept guidance once the basics are under control.
