Celebrity gardener Monty Don has suffered a stroke and will stand down from his presenting duties, the BBC said. The 52-year-old frontman of the BBC's Gardener's World has been off the programme for the past six weeks after being struck by a minor stroke, it was announced. In a statement the BBC said the star was making 'a good recovery', while Don himself said he was taking time off over the summer to make a full recovery. German-born Montagu 'Monty' Don followed in the footsteps of Percy Thrower, Geoff Hamilton and Alan Titchmarsh when he took over as the main presenter of the long-running Gardeners' World in 2003. Revealing his health issues on Thursday, the BBC said: "Monty Don has decided to stand down as the main presenter of Gardeners' World. "Monty has presented the series for the past five years, but has been off our screens for the past six weeks as a result of a minor stroke. Although he is making a good recovery he feels unable to commit to regular filming for a while." It added that Don would be 'sorely missed by viewers and the production team'. In a statement, Don said: "I am proud to have led Gardener's World for the past five years and have enjoyed every minute of sharing my passion with the programmes viewers. I intend to take some gardening leave for the rest of the summer to make a full recovery and so that I am ready to tackle new projects." Don lives with his wife and three children in a house with a two-acre garden in Herefordshire.
