Monty Don Opens Up On Behind-The-Scenes Struggles As He Admits ‘That Was Never The Intention’
Monty Don has opened up about the exhausting reality behind his hugely popular travel programmes as he prepares to step away from his long-running role as Gardeners’ World lead presenter.
The 71-year-old took over from Alan Titchmarsh in 2003, but his time fronting the BBC gardening favourite is due to come to an end following the current series.
While leaving Gardeners’ World could give Monty more time to concentrate on his travel documentaries, he has warned that filming them is far from the relaxing globetrotting experience viewers might imagine.
In fact, Monty says making the programmes can be even harder than working on Gardeners’ World.
Monty Reveals Brutal Filming Schedule
Monty has combined his gardening duties with travel television for almost two decades.
His first major series, Around the World in 80 Gardens, was followed by programmes taking him through countries including Italy, France, Spain, Japan and the United States.
His latest series, Rhineland Gardens, aired earlier in 2026, and Monty now has his sights set on Scandinavia and South America.
But speaking on the Good Food podcast, he explained that these trips bear little resemblance to holidays.
Calling the programmes “a labour of love”, Monty said: “It’s harder work doing that than Gardeners’ World, for example.”
A typical filming day can begin before sunrise.
“Very often leave the hotel early, at six or something like that. Film all day. Travel, as well,” he explained.
Even after filming finishes, the team still has to travel to the next destination, unload equipment and prepare everything for the following morning.
Monty also has to complete his research for the next day.
If things go well, the crew might reach their next location by around 6.30pm or 7pm. On more difficult days, that can be as late as 9pm.
‘There Are No Rest Days’
The presenter revealed that bedtime can come around midnight — only for everyone to be back up at approximately 5.30am.
“And that’s what we do,” he said.
“There are no rest days.”
Monty said the huge amount of travelling involved can become exhausting in itself.
When the team filmed British Gardens over a two-year period, production was split across five separate trips.
“Each trip, I personally drove 1,000 miles,” he revealed.
The schedule for Rhineland Gardens could be even more extreme.
Monty recalled one day when the crew managed to film in four different countries.
That demanding schedule means even a short series involving only a handful of episodes can require an enormous amount of preparation and travelling behind the scenes.
Monty Denies Travel Shows Are Ending
Despite the strain involved, Monty dismissed suggestions that Rhineland Gardens was intended to be his final travel series.
“That was never the intention,” he said.
However, he acknowledged another challenge: getting ambitious gardening and travel programmes commissioned has become increasingly difficult.
“It’s getting harder and harder to get these programmes commissioned,” Monty explained.
“They are a lot of preparation, they are an awful lot of filming. They are a labour of love.”
His travel projects are also made with a familiar production crew who have worked alongside him for years.
Monty jokingly described them as the “oldest TV team in the world”, revealing that most members are now in their 60s and 70s.
New Chapter After Gardeners’ World
Monty’s departure from the lead role on Gardeners’ World therefore does not necessarily mean he is preparing to disappear from television.
Instead, it could give him greater freedom to pursue the international programmes that have become another major part of his broadcasting career.
Scandinavia and South America are already among the destinations he would like to explore next.
But anyone imagining Monty enjoying leisurely trips between beautiful gardens may need to think again.
Behind the finished programmes are early starts, midnight finishes, thousands of miles of travelling and virtually no days off.
As Monty made clear, what looks like one of television’s ultimate dream jobs is still very much hard graft.
