Monty Dons: Why He’s Leaving Gardeners’ World in 2026

Age: 71 (born 8 July 1955) ·
Years as Gardeners’ World host: 22 (2003–2026) ·
Instagram followers: 1 million+ ·
Departure announced: September 2026 ·
Books published: 20+

Eight quick facts, one pattern: public success and private setback have run side by side throughout Don’s adult life.

How did Monty Don lose his money?

The short answer is a jewellery business. The longer answer involves a couple, a collapse, and a garden that saved them.

What caused Monty Don’s financial troubles?

• Monty and Sarah Don ran a costume-jewellery business in the 1980s that later collapsed, costing the couple most of their savings (BBC, UK public broadcaster)
• The failure pushed Don into a depression he has since spoken about openly (Wikipedia, online encyclopedia)

Don has never published the exact figure he lost, but he has been candid about the scale of the blow: near bankruptcy, and the lowest stretch of his adult life. What pulled him through was the garden, and the decision to turn a long-time hobby into a working career.

Did Monty Don recover his wealth?

Recovery was built on writing. Don became The Observer’s gardening editor in 1994 and held the role until 2006, then wrote a Daily Mail gardening column from 2004 to 2023 (Monty Don official website). Books followed and, from 2003, the television work that made him a household name. Published net worth estimates now hover around £8 million.

Why this matters: without the financial collapse, the gardening career might never have happened — television’s loss was the garden’s gain.

What illness has Monty Don got?

The honest answer, as of early 2026, is that no ongoing serious illness has been confirmed. The fuller answer involves a stroke, a period of depression, and a recent knee replacement that has slowed him down.

Did Monty Don have a stroke?

In 2008, Don suffered a minor stroke and made a full recovery (Wikipedia, online encyclopedia). He has described the experience openly, and no lasting effects have been reported since.

Does Monty Don have any chronic conditions?

• A knee replacement in November left Don with a “horribly painful” recovery, and he has said filming days could leave him unable to walk the dogs — with surgery on the other knee possible for late 2027 (The Standard, UK news outlet)
• Don has also spoken about the depression that followed the collapse of the jewellery business (Wikipedia, online encyclopedia)

None of this amounts to a chronic illness. Don has been open about each setback precisely because none of them, in the end, stopped him from working.

Why this matters: the 2026 exit gives him room to recover on his own schedule, without a Saturday-night filming deadline.

What happened to Monty Don’s twin sister?

Don was born with a twin sister who died shortly after birth; he grew up with a younger sister but no surviving twin (Wikipedia, online encyclopedia).

Who was Monty Don’s first wife?

• Monty Don has been married once: to Sarah Don, since 1991 (Wikipedia, online encyclopedia)
• There is no earlier marriage — Sarah is the first wife and the only wife

The question keeps appearing in search data, probably because Sarah stays out of the spotlight. The answer is simple: Sarah Don is the first wife, the only wife, and the person most present in Don’s working life.

What does Monty Don’s wife do for a living?

• Sarah Don is a writer and gardener (Monty Don official website)
• She co-wrote books with Monty and helps run Longmeadow (Monty Don official website)

The couple married in 1991 and built Longmeadow together; the garden viewers see on television is as much Sarah’s project as Monty’s. She rarely appears on screen, but her influence is visible in almost every frame.

The takeaway: the private life behind the public gardener is quieter, and more shared, than the television persona suggests.

Why does Monty always wear a scarf?

The scarf is the most recognised accessory in British gardening, and the reason is more practical than the internet assumes.

Is Monty Don a nice guy?

On the character question, the public record is unusually clean: Don is consistently described as sincere and approachable, with no notable controversies across more than two decades on screen. His willingness to talk about money trouble, depression and health setbacks has made him one of the more trusted figures on British television.

What does it mean when a man wears a scarf?

• Practically: warmth while working outdoors in cold weather
• As fashion: a style choice for many men
• Culturally: no single fixed meaning across contexts

For Don, the meaning is practical. He gardens outdoors for hours in often damp conditions, and he has said the scarf keeps him warm. The signature came later — wear the same thing on prime-time television for years, and it stops being clothing and starts being a brand.

The pattern: the scarf is where function meets television magic — and it cost Don nothing but a warm neck.

Why is Monty Don leaving Gardeners World and what are his next projects?

In September 2026, Don confirmed the current series of Gardeners’ World would be his last, describing the exit as “the right time for a change” after more than two decades as lead presenter — and adding that leaving the show does not mean retiring from television altogether (The Standard, UK news outlet).

When did Monty Don announce his departure?

• Announcement made in September 2026 (The Standard, UK news outlet)
• The decision has been described as a mutual agreement with the BBC to bring in new presenters (The Standard, UK news outlet)
• No successor has been announced (The Standard, UK news outlet)

The wording mattered. Don did not frame the exit as a retirement or a falling-out; he framed it as the natural end of a chapter. The BBC now faces one of the most difficult presenter handovers in its history.

What will Monty Don do after Gardeners’ World?

• More books and online gardening content (Monty Don official website)
• Continued work at Longmeadow and on the couple’s farm
• Occasional television documentaries remain a possibility (The Standard, UK news outlet)

The realistic reading of his public statements is that he will pick his own projects instead of being tied to a weekly filming schedule.

What this means: the BBC’s biggest gardening brand needs a new face, and Don’s departure will reshape British gardening television for years to come.

Monty Don: key dates

A life in dates, from a German birth to a Herefordshire garden and a 2026 departure.

• 1955 — Born to British parents in Germany; grows up in Hampshire (Monty Don official website)
• 1980s — Runs a costume-jewellery business with Sarah Don (BBC, UK public broadcaster)
• 1991 — Marries Sarah Don (Wikipedia, online encyclopedia)
• Early 1990s — The jewellery business collapses; the couple lose most of their savings (BBC, UK public broadcaster)
• 1994–2006 — Gardening editor of The Observer (Monty Don official website)
• 2003 — Becomes lead presenter of Gardeners’ World (BBC, UK public broadcaster)
• 2008 — Suffers a minor stroke; recovers fully (Wikipedia, online encyclopedia)
• 2011 — Returns to Gardeners’ World, now filmed at Longmeadow (Monty Don official website)
• September 2026 — Announces departure from Gardeners’ World (The Standard, UK news outlet)

The pattern: almost every turning point in Don’s life involves a garden or a woman named Sarah.

What’s confirmed, what’s not

After sorting the public record, here is where things stand.

The split between confirmed and unclear matters for one reason: most of the dramatic stories about Don — the bankruptcy, the stroke, the twin — are true; the details around them are where rumour creeps in.

What Monty Don said

“It was the right time for a change.”

Monty Don, on leaving Gardeners’ World, as reported by The Standard, UK news outlet

“Leaving Gardeners’ World did not mean retiring from television altogether.”

The Standard, UK news outlet, reporting on Don’s plans after the BBC show

Taken together, the public statements show a man who narrates his own setbacks plainly, without melodrama.

The future without Monty Don

Don’s departure ends a 2003-to-2026 run that turned a weekend gardening programme into a national ritual (The Standard, UK news outlet). The BBC now faces a concrete problem: finding a successor with both horticultural authority and the warmth that made the show work. For viewers, the change is emotional as well as practical — and for Don himself, it means the first autumn in decades without a camera crew in the garden. For Britain’s gardeners, the decision is clear: judge the new host on their own borders, or treat the change as a chance to rediscover the garden without the small screen — either way, Longmeadow remains the benchmark.

Related reading

• Jools Holland: biography
• Peter Purves: where is he now?

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