HEARTBROKEN: Alan Titchmarsh speaks candidly about his declining health and admits he is ‘in denial’.
Alan Titchmarsh has opened up candidly about his health after turning 77, admitting he is “in denial” about getting older despite making major changes to his lifestyle.
The Love Your Weekend presenter recently downsized with his wife Alison, selling their £3.5million Grade II-listed Hampshire home and moving to a smaller bungalow in Surrey.
The veteran gardener explained that one reason behind the decision was the reality that maintaining such a large garden may become increasingly difficult as he gets older.
Writing in his Gardeners’ World column, Alan admitted: “There is no doubt that I am in denial. I think of myself as 40-something. Ha!”
He added: “While I might be hale and hearty at the moment, I cannot count on such good fortune indefinitely.”
Alan Says ‘Every Day Is a Bonus’
Despite his concerns about ageing, Alan said he currently considers himself fortunate.
Speaking to The Times, he joked that unlike many people his age, he still has his original joints.
“I’m very lucky; nothing has been replaced,” he said.
“People keep saying, ‘You’ve got new knees’. I haven’t; they’re the ones I originally had.”
However, thoughts about his health have been shaped heavily by his family history.
Alan’s father died from a heart attack aged 62, something the presenter said has made him increasingly conscious of how unpredictable life can be.
“You don’t know what’s round the corner,” he said.
“My dad died of a heart attack at 62. It makes you aware that every day is a bonus, really.”
Alan reflected that he has now lived 15 years longer than his father did.
Years of Gardening Took a Toll
Although Alan remains active, decades spent gardening have taken a physical toll.
Years of bending and kneeling eventually caused problems with his knee, and he underwent surgery to remove damaged tissue and cartilage.
Following the procedure, he said the improvement had been significant.
“I had it all cleared out and they feel so much better,” he previously told the Mirror.
Alan explained that years of kneeling while gardening had left his knees “a bit frayed”, but joked after surgery that he felt like “a spring chicken again”.
Gardening has caused plenty of other minor injuries over the years too.
He previously described suffering “blackened fingernails”, cuts to his arms and legs from rose bushes and back pain from carrying heavy paving slabs and posts.
Lockdown Accident Left Him on Crutches
Alan suffered another setback in 2020 after breaking his ankle during lockdown.
At the time, he was keeping highly active, reportedly walking around 26,000 steps per day while working in his garden.
However, a slip on wet grass left him needing crutches for six weeks.
“I broke my ankle at the beginning of September,” he told Radio Times.
“I slipped on wet grass and was on crutches for six weeks.”
The injury proved particularly frustrating for someone accustomed to being independent.
Alan admitted he struggled with having to rely on other people for everyday tasks.
“It was very frustrating because you can’t even carry a cup of tea,” he said.
“I found having to rely on somebody else doing absolutely everything for me really hard.”
He added: “I’m not a terribly good patient; I don’t do ill.”
Family Heart History Prompted Extra Caution
Alan’s family history of heart problems eventually persuaded him to take his own long-term health more seriously.
Doctors advised him to take statins in an effort to reduce his cardiovascular risk after his father and several other male relatives suffered heart disease.
Speaking in 2014, Alan admitted he was not enthusiastic about having to take medication every day.
“I’m on statins. I wish I wasn’t,” he told the Mirror.
“I don’t like the thought of taking tablets every day, but I’m following my doctor’s advice.”
He added: “He thinks it’s a good idea.”
Alan has since said he has tried to adopt a more relaxed approach to life.
Hospital Dash Sparked Heart Attack Fears
One particularly frightening incident came in 2016 when Alan was airlifted to hospital after suffering severe pain that initially raised concerns about a possible heart attack.
The episode happened after he ate fish and chips followed by an Easter egg.
Alan was reportedly left in “agony” before being taken to hospital.
Doctors ultimately discovered that his symptoms were caused by gallstones rather than a heart attack.
Recalling the experience, Alan admitted the pain had been terrifying.
“I hoped I wasn’t going to die, and I was hanging on in there, but the pain was so acute at one point I thought it might be a blessed relief,” he told The Sunday Post.
He initially suspected indigestion but became increasingly worried when the discomfort failed to disappear.
“I didn’t know what was wrong,” he said.
Although he did not believe he was having a heart attack because the pain was not travelling down his arm, he admitted the experience was still frightening.
He later described the gallstone pain as “every bit as agonising as a heart attack”.
Now, at 77, Alan appears determined to remain active while also accepting that he may need to make practical adjustments.
His decision to downsize his home and garden reflects that shift, even if he admits part of him still thinks of himself as decades younger.
For the presenter, his father’s early death remains a powerful reminder not to take his own health for granted — and, as he puts it, to treat every day as a bonus.
