Gardeners’ Question Time gets a very special Devon setting
By Animals Correspondent
There was a rather unusual guest at the latest recording of BBC Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time — a grey cat who clearly felt he belonged on stage.
The programme was recorded last week at The Donkey Sanctuary in Sidmouth, with around 150 garden enthusiasts from across East Devon making up the live audience.
They brought a wonderfully varied collection of gardening questions for the expert panel, which included Anne Swithinbank, Pippa Greenwood and Matthew Pottage.
Programme host Peter Gibbs also took the opportunity to introduce the sanctuary to the show's roughly two million weekly listeners, describing its peaceful setting in the Devon countryside and explaining the work of the international animal welfare charity.
Before the recording began, he admitted he was particularly keen to meet some of the sanctuary's residents.
“It's just such a lovely, quiet, peaceful spot, great horticulture, which of course is the reason we're here,” he said.
“I've only seen one or two donkeys so far, so I have to put that right and actually go and get up close and personal with a donkey or two.”
The audience certainly came prepared.
Among the gardening conundrums put to the panel were questions prompted by the recent spell of dry weather, while one audience member arrived with locally grown kiwi fruit to illustrate their question.
The experts had answers for everything — although they weren't quite prepared for one unexpected interruption.
Partway through the recording, the sanctuary's resident cat, Beau, decided it was time to make his television-free radio debut, strolling onto the stage alongside the panellists.
The grey moggy was quickly escorted somewhere a little quieter by a member of staff, but not before raising a ripple of laughter from the audience.
The recordings were a particularly special occasion for The Donkey Sanctuary's gardening team, who care for the beautifully landscaped grounds enjoyed by visitors throughout the year.
Head Gardener Morley Martin was among those in the audience.
“To have Gardeners’ Question Time at The Donkey Sanctuary is quite a thing, it’s a real feather in our cap,” he said.
The programme has been visiting different locations around the country for decades. First broadcast in 1947, it has now answered more than 30,000 gardening questions.
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Two programmes were recorded during the sanctuary visit.
The first will be broadcast on Friday 28 August, with the second following on 25 September. The programme is broadcast on Radio 4 at 3pm on Fridays and repeated on Sundays at 2pm, with episodes also available on BBC Sounds.
And while the gardeners had their moment in the spotlight, there is still plenty to see at the sanctuary itself.
Set in the East Devon countryside, The Donkey Sanctuary is free to visit and open every day, with a couple of hundred resident donkeys and gardens cared for by its dedicated team.
The sanctuary is also home to its own award-winning RHS Chelsea Flower Show Garden, which was relocated to East Devon in 2019.
So, if you're heading there for the gardens, keep an eye out for Beau too. He clearly knows how to make an entrance.
