Garden Rescue has been recommissioned for series 11, but we might be seeing a lot less of fan-favourite Charlie Dimmock, 58, on our screens.
That’s because four new gardening gurus are joining the show. And Charlie will have to do battle with them to earn the right to makeover viewers’ homes.
Garden Rescue shake-up as Charlie Dimmock gets four new co-stars
Series 10 of the gardening show is currently airing on BBC One. Currently, Charlie only has to pit her gardening wits against three other gardeners – Lee Burkhill, Chris Hull and Flo Headlam.
Two of the stars go head-to-head on each episode, designing a garden they hope will win over the homeowners. However, with four new gardeners joining the team, Charlie’s airtime will surely be drastically reduced…
Joining the team for the new series are Diarmuid Gavin, Frances Tophill, Joe Swift and Sue Kent. In a statement, the BBC said “they’ll add a fun new dimension to the show, along with their unique design perspectives and a healthy dose of Garden Rescue friendly competition”.
‘Only one design gets chosen’
The statement continued: “Each episode will see one designer go head-to-head with one of the new recruits. Each pitching their vision to homeowners who are desperate for a dream outdoor space but don’t know where to begin. As always, there’s only one design that gets chosen and brought to life.”
And, as a result, only one gardener out of the eight who get to do it…
It all helps keep the show fresh as it heads into series 11.
Caroline O’Neill, Assistant Commissioning Editor for BBC Daytime, said: “It’s great to have such well-loved and hugely respected gardeners joining the team. Each bringing their green fingers and creative flair to their unique designs, making for the best competitions yet!
“Audiences will also get to enjoy revisiting the spaces to see how the people are using their newly transformed gardens.” Caroline also promised “lots of helpful tips and tricks to be mastered at home too”.
‘Summer spruce up’
A source told The Sun: “Garden Rescue is one of BBC Daytime’s most popular slots so it deserved a summer spruce. The new twist means as well as the usual imaginative solutions, gardening hacks and advice, Garden Rescue will be brimming with friendly competitive banter.
“Plus the new experts bring with them new ideas, creativity and flair. It all helps keep the show fresh as it heads into series 11.”
Charlie’s TV future
The news comes after Charlie Dimmock cast doubt over her TV future.
Speaking to her old pal Alan Titchmarsh on Love Your Weekend earlier this year, Charlie was asked if she enjoyed making television shows.
“Yes and no. I don’t know. I do love it but I hate it at the same time,” she said.
“Because it gets in the way of life?” Alan asked her in response.
“It gets in the way of different things,” Charlie then told him. “Stuff like that.”
Green-fingered goddess Charlie Dimmock has been a regular on our screens for decades – but she only joined Garden Rescue back in 2016.
Before joining the BBC series, Charlie found fame alongside Alan Titchmarsh and Tommy Walsh on Ground Force.
Charlie Dimmock gets her big break
Her big break came in 1997 – five years after first meeting the producer/director of the series when she built a pond for the Meridian series, Grass Roots.
She worked on Ground Force for the five years that it aired. And her time on the show was controversial – thanks mostly to her not wearing a bra while she worked. “Little did I know it would become my trademark,” she previously quipped.
Charlie Dimmock also embarked on an affair with a member of the crew while working on the show. Not that she regrets it, despite being in a long-term relationship at the time. She said: “You wouldn’t do anything if you worried about what might go wrong.”
Tragedy strikes
In the mid-2000s, Ground Force was scrapped and Charlie Dimmock spent some time off screen. Her break from the spotlight coincided with the death of her mother, who died in the Boxing Day tsunami in south-east Asia.
But she said the tragedy wasn’t the reason the show ended: “Ground Force just finished. It had been a long time doing gardens in the same format. The budget on the programme was actually quite small and there’s only so much you can do… with gravel.”
Charlie Dimmock joins Garden Rescue
Come 2016, though, Charlie was back on our screens, this time in newly launches series Garden Rescue.
As well as her TV work, Charlie has also appeared in panto – oh yes she did! And bared her buns in the stage version of Calendar Girls. She even had a cameo in Hollyoaks! “I’ll stick to what I know and love best – gardening!” she quipped afterwards.
Perhaps the highest accolade, though, for Garden Rescue star Charlie Dimmock is having a rose named after her – the cherry red/silvery pink Charlie’s Rose.
Garden Rescue is on BBC One weekdays at 3.45pm.
Read more: Charlie Dimmock’s ex on moment he discovered she was having affair with TV show pal
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