Will Kirk has revealed that Alan Titchmarsh got in touch after he was “desperately struggling” with the garden at his Surrey countryside home last year. Kirk said the offer came as he was trying to bring the outdoor space back to life, with dry, dusty grass and roses being smothered by a neighbour’s plant that kept creeping over the fence.
The 41-year-old’s comments have drawn fresh attention because he is back in view this week on The Chase Celebrity Special, airing on Sunday night at 7pm on ITV1 and ITVX, while his home project remains unfinished. Kirk and his wife Polly moved out of London after 39 years in the capital, and he said the move was driven by his work on The Repair Shop and the time he had already been spending outside the city.
Kirk said he and Titchmarsh had already talked about the garden on Love Your Weekend, and that the veteran gardener lives nearby and even offered to come over and take a look. For now, though, Kirk is keeping the focus on basics. He said he wants to get the garden to “a decent level” before taking advice on flowers and plants, and he has been studying Titchmarsh’s videos online to work out how to sow seeds.
That outlook sits alongside a more domestic disagreement at home. Kirk said he wanted to head straight for the garden, while Polly was clear that the inside of the house should come first, pointing out that the front door and the rooms beyond it needed attention before the landscaping did. It is a familiar split for anyone trying to turn a new house into a proper home, but in Kirk’s case it has slowed the outside work as much as any lack of expertise.
He has been candid about just how bare the plot was when he started. Kirk said the previous occupants had installed a hot tub that left a big brown patch on the lawn, and that his former London flat only offered a balcony with a few dying plants. He has also said the garden became a priority in 2025, even if it still looks like a work in progress.
What remains unanswered is whether Titchmarsh has actually been round to inspect it. Kirk says the invitation is there, but only after the grass is healthier and the roses are no longer under siege. Until then, the man best known for restoring antiques is left restoring a patch of Surrey lawn one week at a time.
