Titchmarsh knows his place

TV GARDENER Alan Titchmarsh insists he will never develop delusions of grandeur, despite being on intimate terms with the Royal Family.

He is chums with Prince Charles, and interviewed the Duke of Edinburgh when he announced he was retiring from royal duties at the age of 95.

‘I remember [film director] Martin Scorsese being asked what a top Hollywood actor was really like, and his reply was, “What would you be like if no one had said no to you for 40 years?” I don’t want to get like that. You can be professional without being arsey.’

Titchmarsh, 68, has other delusions, of course. He claims that when he collected his MBE at Buckingham Palace, the Queen told him: ‘You give a lot of ladies a lot of pleasure.’