In article , Sue
wrote:

When AT first took over on GW from the wonderful down-to-earth Geoff
Hamilton, he did in fact start off quite well and for about one season I
thought he'd make a decent replacement, but thereafter his manner seemed to
me to get more and more arrogant and, yes, smug!

Maybe he was smug because he's the only gardener ever to get into the
Sunday Times Rich List... (unless Doc Hessayon ever made it). My own
impression is that he is smooth rather than smug - and a lot more
professional than just about any other gardening presenter. He's
certainly a lot more knowledgeable than Monty Don who, in addition to
making lots of mistakes, misses no opportunity to ram his organic
gardening principles down our throat. Since organic gardeners are still
a small minority of the total, the BBC should stamp on him before he
alienates a lot of viewers. AT is organic too but he manages to tread a
happy middle path when presenting to the masses.

Incidentally, I didn't like the cosy banter on the balcony during the
Beeb's Chelsea shows either but I'm more inclined to blame the
producer/director than either AT or DG. Probably the idea was to get
Dermot to smile a lot - which is pretty much all he has to offer on TV.
I was _very_ impressed with one sequence filmed in the pavillion where
AT was filmed chatting to camera as he walked up the full length of one
of the aisles, pointing out exhibits along the way and acknowledging
friends and well-wishers as he went. It was maybe a 3 minute sequence
filmed in one take. It may not have been the first take admittedly but
it was a highly professional performance from he who still rules the
airwaves - by a long way, imho. And yes, I do think gardening on TV can
profit from being entertaining as well as informative as it all helps
to draw new gardeners into the fold. Whether the Beed went too far in
this respect this year is a moot point.

Simon