ALAN Titchmarsh has been left ‘in tears’ after a major career milestone – with his family on hand to support him.
The 75-year-old TV gardener was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the New Year Honours.
He told PA News agency he had a “teary moment” with his wife Alison and two daughters as he shared the news.
He said: “I’ve been an MBE for 25 years, so I kind of thought that was… I’ve been very happy with that.
“[I’m] thrilled to bits, surprised, but honoured that I should be thought worth a CBE, flattered beyond belief.”
The former Gardeners’ World presenter has gone on to present a host of shows about green-fingered activities.
The Love Your Garden, Love Your Friday and Love Your Weekend presenter is a national treasure.
He has presented Britain’s Best Gardens, Alan Titchmarsh’s Garden Secrets and Countryfile to name but a few.
He has earned recognition for his work services to horticulture and to charity.
He is the president of Perennial, formerly the Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Society and Plant Heritage, previously the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens (NCCPG).
It’s not the first time he has been emotional, as he recently admitted he broke down when he teamed up with composer Debbie Wiseman to recreate the story of Jack Frost.
While Alan has penned the novel, Cerys Matthews and her son Red Abbot-Matthews perform two Christmas carols.
But for Alan the new project often proved to be highly emotional, leaving him in floods of tears.
Appearing on BBC Breakfast to promote the project, he explained: “In that shot there [watching Cerys and her son perform the carol] I was struggling to hold it together.”
Composer Debbie, who was sitting beside Alan on the red sofa, also spoke about his tears.
She said: “When he gets behind the microphone and he’s reading, he’s just professional and he just does it and he’s just so brilliant when I’m conducting the music.
