ONE of the UK's most respected and passionate television gardeners will be sharing his knowledge and experience in Ilkley later this year.

Monty Don will present "Down to Earth" at King's Hall in November.

A spokesman for the venue said: "Monty will speak about his life and travels visiting gardens all over the world and what really happens behind the scenes when filming.

"He will also talk about how he made his own organic garden from a bare field and how understanding and working with nature enriches and empowers us all."

Following a spell of unemployment after the collapse of his business, Monty's first television work came as the presenter of a gardening segment on breakfast show This Morning.

He went on to present several Channel 4 land and gardening series and wrote a regular weekly gardening column for The Observer, despite never having received formal training as a gardener.

Don was the main presenter on BBC Two's Gardeners' World from 2003 to 2008 succeeding Alan Titchmarsh, and was the first self-taught horticulturist presenter in the show's 36-year history.

He featured in the BBC programme and book, Growing out of Trouble, in which several heroin addicts manage a six-acre Herefordshire smallholding in an attempt at rehabilitation.

Don presented Around the World in 80 Gardens and in December 2008, narrated a programme about the cork oak forests of Portugal, for the BBC's natural history series Natural World.

He presented My Dream Farm, a series which helped people learn to become successful smallholders, and also Mastercrafts, a six-part series for BBC Two which celebrated six traditional British crafts.

In 2011 Don presented Italian Gardens, a four-part BBC2 series, and In February 2013, a companion series was broadcast called Monty Don's French Gardens.

Since 2008 he has been president of the Soil Association and is a patron of Bees for Development Trust.

His Down to Earth show in Ilkley begins at 7.30pm on November 14. Visit bradford-theatres.co.uk/whats-on/down-to-earth-with-monty-don or call 01274 432000 for tickets.