I've just been reading the barrage of comments on various websites related to the return of Monty Don to Gardener's world in the spring. Comments seem to be 50:50 wanting him back, and outrage that Toby Buckland is being dropped.
I'm not a fan of Monty Don's style of presenting, but can see the value of having him return. It is a shame he and Toby couldn't have fronted the show together, as with Toby we have real credibility based on vast experience, and with Monty a presenter who can deliver the "twiddly bits" as I like to call them.
What I do love though is that any change to Gardener's World offers up real debate and chattering from the back borders. And that can only be a good thing. Roll on the spring and the return of GW!!
What a disgrace - it's typical of the BBC that they would drop someone like this. I liked Monty Don, but he left and Toby Buckland did a good job when taking over, or so I thought. Perhaps he was just a little to back-to-basics for the 'expert gardeners' (I'm no expert) who watch the programme. The BBC want to have a good look at how they conduct themselves in this kind of decision making. I sat down on Sunday to watch Countryfile, one of my favourite programmes, and was immediately turned-off by Julia Bradbury's immature behaviour (and Matt Baker's not much better). I switched off and did something else for an hour. The old Countryfile team were jolly good. Thank goodness Adam Henson's still on board - a least he's not loutish and loud like JB and WOW-ish like MB.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to the return of GW and spring, though I only dipped in and out of the show since Monty Don left. I had high hopes for Toby Buckland, good gardener that he is, but his presenting style was to me flat and un-engaging, add to that too much Joe Swift and way way to much 'jolly lovely' and way way too happy over the top Carol Cline and I just couldn't watch. On another tack I think they need to get back to a real garden as a base for the show, and they need to feature and work with more real people and real gardens in the city town and country, it's nice to look at champion gardens stately homes and chelsea prize types but the real work should be in engaging real people to garden and grow there own, too encourage people in the real world to pick up a fork.
ReplyDeleteHi Emma thanks for your thoughts. and James, thanks for popping by (love your artwork, I'll keep an eye on your blog)
ReplyDeleteI love these two opposing (mostly) views as it illustrates what I've long thought about gardening and gardeners, we seem placid on the surface, but like a swan on calm water, we can be ruffled and difficult to please all of the time.
I stopped watching GW regularly this year just because of time constraints due to work, however my partner being a profesional gardener loves watching it weekely. She is both a Toby and Monty fan. I quite like Carol Klein, as she's slightly eccentric, but Sarah Raven was my favourite female presenter of recent times.
I hadn't realised that Monty Don was making a come back - whilst I'm sorry that Toby is leaving I will much look forward to Monty Don's more earthy approach and his natural and infectious enthusiasm which as someone else had posted just wasn't there with Toby - at least Monty looks as though he gets his hands dirty from time to time - so many gardening presenters (dare I say it, particularly the women other than Carol Cline) have the appearance that they've never got themselves muddy in their lives! I've not watched a great deal of the most recent series so will look forward to this in 2011!
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