Alan Titchmarsh 'very concerned' about co-star Frances Tophill 'living in a van'

Frances Tophill was a complete unknown, having never been on TV before she was chosen to star alongside Alan Titchmarsh on ITV1's Love Your Garden.

But the 34-year-old from Kent has become a beloved household name to green fingered telly fans - and has forged a good friendship with Ground Force legend Titchmarsh, too.

As well as starring on the ITV gardening programme, Frances is a published author but it hasn't always been plain sailing for her career - and at one point she was considering living in a van full time, sparking concern from co-star Alan even when she was becoming a household name for green-fingered garden TV fans.

Alan Titchmarsh's concern for co-star Frances Tophill

Speaking to The Sunday Post, she recalled the time Alan Titchmarsh was 'very concerned about me'.

It was around the time she was looking to buy a house, but things weren't going well and she kept being outbid.

She said: "I called him the other day to tell him about my new home because he was very concerned about me. I'd been trying to buy a house for years. Then it was the pandemic, and it was all very competitive."

"I said if I didn't get it, I could just buy myself a little field and live in my van"

She went on to say that Alan was horrified to hear about her plans to live in a van, and so he was quite relieved when she eventually picked up the keys to her new house in Devon and she told her co-star the good news.

But Frances stressed that she still 'needs a home on wheels' and kept the van even after getting on the property ladder. Indeed, she lives in the van when she's away filming Love Your Garden around different parts of the country.

Frances Tophill's health battle

Frances has also battled her health condition. She has dyslexia, but it hasn't stopped her publishing five gardening books, including The Modern Gardener, which contains a 'passionate environmental debate'.

She started out with a shop assistant job at Marks and Spencer but a £2 an hour role as an apprentice lured her to gardening as a vocation. It turned out that the job was to renovate the garden of the house owned by Dom and Steph from Gogglebox, The Salutation.

Much like her co-star Katie Rushworth, it was a chance email while at university that asked for gardeners to apply to join Alan Titchmarsh on Love Your Garden that ended up landing Frances a job working for ITV.

She was given the job after a trip to audition in London, despite no previous TV experience (just like Katie Rushworth) and has starred in the ITV series alongside Alan Titchmarsh, Katie Rushworth and David Domoney ever since.

Is Frances Tophill married and does she have kids?

Frances keeps her private life very hush hush, so it's hard to say if she has a husband - but we know she's a loving auntie to her sister's little boy. Beyond that, 'Frinky' has kept her private life hidden.

Whatever the future holds, Frances has clearly become a firm favourite with ITV viewers and seems bound to help many more people love their gardens for some time yet.