Who will replace Monty Don as Gardeners' World faces biggest change in 23 years

Monty Don is leaving Gardeners’ World after 23 years, leaving the BBC with a difficult question: Who can replace the man who has become the face of the show?

The 71-year-old announced Tuesday that the current series will be his last, ending a run of around 700 episodes.

The BBC has not yet announced who will replace him, but there are already a few familiar names being discussed.

Adam Frost has been part of Gardeners’ World for years and has already stepped in to present episodes without Don. He is currently creating a new garden from scratch for the programme, which could also give the BBC a ready-made setting for a new era of the show.

Frances Tophill, the 36-year-old, has appeared on Gardeners’ World for a decade and has long been seen as a possible successor.

There is one problem: she doesn't seem particularly interested in becoming the next Monty Don.

Tophill previously recalled filling in for Don and later being mobbed by people who recognised her while she was helping a friend sell plants.

“That's when I got a glimpse of what being Monty must be like,” she said. “I don't want that.”

She has also said gardening, rather than broadcasting, remains her main job.

Another name in the conversation is Jamie Butterworth, a younger gardening expert who has previously been described as Don's “protegé” and even the “Jamie Oliver of gardening.”

Whoever gets the job will be taking over a programme closely associated with Don and his own garden, Longmeadow, where Gardeners’ World has been filmed since 2011.

Don, however, isn't disappearing from television.

“There are more books to write, more programmes to make,” he said while announcing his departure.