Frances Tophill rules out Monty Don succession on Gardeners' World

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.