Alan Titchmarsh feared BBC smash hit Ground Force wouldn't work on TV

Alan Titchmarsh was 1 of the guests connected James Martin's Saturday Morning alongside award-winning composer Debbie Wiseman, and chefs Nick Nairn and Dipna and Gulu Anand

Alan Titchmarsh initially thought the fashionable amusement Ground Force couldn't enactment connected TV - but helium was convinced by TV producers.

The 75-year-old gardening adept was 1 of the guests connected James Martin's Saturday Morning alongside award-winning composer Debbie Wiseman, and chefs Nick Nairn and Dipna and Gulu Anand connected Saturday greeting (November 23).

While rustling up a tasty dish, big James Martin delved into Alan's travel to TV fame and however helium became a household name. His astir fashionable amusement was Ground Force which featured Alan Titchmarsh and his gardening pals Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Walsh from 1997 to 2002.

Alan wasn't wholly sold connected the thought that a radical of gardeners could enactment miracles successful conscionable 2 days. He pointed out: "I wanted to marque it accessible.

"But you've got to remember, I mean, that was 15 years aft I started doing television. I started doing Gardeners' World successful 1996 and past Ground Force came on successful 1997 truthful that's astir 20 years since I started broadcasting.

"So determination was a agelong learning curve earlier you get told disconnected for instant gardening."

James chopped successful with his take: "It's the aforesaid happening arsenic a chef, you could ne'er make dishes successful 20 minutes. Now we're doing it successful six (minutes). It's the aforesaid thing."

To which Alan had an answer: "My statement was you could, due to the fact that I said this to the producer, erstwhile they said 'We privation you to bash a plot makeup', I said, 'it can't beryllium done - it takes years marque a garden'.

"They countered with, 'Well, what if you had 2 days? (I said) that's ridiculous. They retorted, 'so you couldn't bash thing successful 2 days?'".

That was the pivotal infinitesimal Alan Titchmarsh realised Ground Force could go a TV reality.

He shared: "So we did what we did and the radical who inherited those gardens, it's the aforesaid with Love Your Garden, which I've been doing connected ITV, you acquisition radical with a plot and it changes lives enormously and besides they get thing that they privation to look after."

While cooking, James Martin asked the gardening presenter and writer however helium started retired his TV and vigor career. Alan Titchmarsh paid tribute to his precocious mother-in-law for her enactment for his freelance media career.

Alan revealed: "I was moving determination (BBC) for gardening magazines, truthful they called maine and said astir the Green Fly and whatnot.

"I past went freelance truthful I went connected my ain - I decided I didn't privation to beryllium stuck successful a London bureau each my life. I'm a gardener and I wanted beryllium retired successful the countryside.

"We lived successful Hampshire and I conscionable went retired connected the own. The lone idiosyncratic encouraged maine to spell freelance is my parent successful law, bless her, due to the fact that I said to Alison, you know, this is it, we won't beryllium earning what I'm earning now."

Against the odds, his multifaceted talents shone through, "In fact, I did each close with television, vigor and penning and negociate to gain a living."

Alan Titchmarsh has since gone connected to go a broadcasting fable acknowledgment to presenting Gardeners' World, Ground Force, Alan Titchmarsh Show and Love Your Garden.

The gardening fable has teamed up with celebrated composer Debbie Wiseman arsenic well, creating a magical Christmas medium delightfully named Jack Frost - A Winter Story.