Monty Don has opened up about an agonising health battle that he’s been suffering from for the last decade – with clues hidden in the recent series of Gardeners’ World.
The gardening expert has revealed that the health issue has kept him from performing certain tasks on the popular BBC series, which is set to return this month.
Writing in Gardeners’ World magazine, Monty, 70, explained he’s been suffering from dodgy knees, after decades of ‘kneeling on them’ in the garden.
He penned: ‘For the last 10 years or more my knees have been giving me gyp and, it turns out, slowly deteriorating. This is not so unusual or unexpected.
‘I have spent 70 years kneeling on them asking them to stagger about under unreasonably heavy loads… They have had a long, hard time of it.’
Monty revealed that when he first went to the doctor about his knee trouble, he was prescribed painkillers and told to ‘stop digging’ in his garden.
Monty Don has opened up on his agonising health battle that he’s been suffering from for the last decade – with clues hidden in the recent series of Gardeners’ World
The gardening expert has revealed that the health issue has kept him from performing certain tasks on the popular BBC series
He continued: ‘You will have rarely seen me do much serious digging, and never kneeling, over the past few series – by the end of a day’s filming, I could barely hobble to the end of the garden.’
Monty underwent scans last year, where he was told by a surgeon that his knees needed to be replaced – undergoing surgery in November 2025.
The TV star was fitted with a titanium and cobalt chrome replacement for his ‘worst’ knee, and had to go through a ‘pretty painful and slow’ recovery.
He’s now ‘able to do things again’ after his ‘dodgy knees limited what he could do’ for years on the BBC programme, often forcing him to ‘sit more’.
Monty concluded: ‘So, like my 40-year-old Land Rover, I have reached that point in life where I am having to do some running repairs and having the occasional refit in order to keep doing what I do!
‘And, with a fair wind and superb surgical skills, I should, like my beaten-up old Defender, keep ploughing on a bit longer… uncomfortable, noisy, a bit slow and cumbersome to turn, but sill working in all weathers.’
It comes after Monty admitted he was left ‘stark b*****k naked’ in his garden after suffering a hilarious blunder last year.
The Gardeners World presenter recalled how a herd of cows once caused chaos in his garden while speaking in a new interview.
Monty revealed that when he first went to the doctor about his knee trouble, he was prescribed painkillers and told to ‘stop digging’ in his garden
Read More
Gardeners World’s Monty Don admits he was left ‘stark b*****k naked’ in hilarious garden blunder
Monty, who films the series from his own garden, Longmeadow in Ivington, Herefordshire, explained that he sees all kinds of wildlife outside his window.
He told The Sun: ‘Sometimes we have wildlife there that we don’t want. One time some cattle got in.
‘I got in the bath, looked out of the window and there was this big white face looking at me.
‘So I got a towel and rushed outside to chase them. I put on some wellies and then the towel fell and I was running around Long Meadow stark b*****k naked.’
Last January, Monty revealed his return to work date amid health woes as he landed a brand new BBC series away from Gardeners’ World.
The TV star was forced to cancel six gigs during his An Audience With Monty Don tour after he had to stay in hospital for several days.
However now he has landed another new show, as he will star in Monty Don’s British Gardens.
