Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 1, 2026

Ground Force

Ground Force is a British garden makeover television series originally broadcast by the BBC between 1997 and 2005. The series was originally hosted by Alan Titchmarsh, Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Walsh.

Last revised
Jun 1, 2026
Read time
≈ 11 min
Length
2,627 w
Citations
72
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Ground Force
GenreGardening, makeover
Created byPeter Bazalgette
Presented byAlan Titchmarsh (1997–2002)
Charlie Dimmock
Tommy Walsh
Will Shanahan
Kirsty King
Theme music composerJim Parker
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series14
No. of episodes115
Production
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesBazal (1997–2002)
Endemol UK Productions (2002–2005)
Original release
NetworkBBC Two (1997)
BBC One (1998–2005)
Release19 September 1997 (1997-09-19) –
24 July 2005 (2005-07-24)
Related
Ground Force America
Top Ground Gear Force

Ground Force is a British garden makeover television series originally broadcast by the BBC between 1997 and 2005. The series was originally hosted by Alan Titchmarsh, Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Walsh.

Production

The series was created by Peter Bazalgette1 and was first broadcast on 19 September 1997 on BBC Two. In each episode, a team of gardeners make over the garden of an individual who has been nominated by a member of their family or a friend. Whilst that individual is away, the team, assisted by friends and family, make over the garden over two days, and surprise the individual on their return. The team was led by Alan Titchmarsh, presenter of Pebble Mill at One and Gardeners' World, gardener Charlie Dimmock, builder Tommy Walsh and his assistant Will Shanahan. Dimmock met the producer–director of the series five years previously when she built a pond for the Meridian series Grass Roots,.2 Walsh was invited to take part after completing work on the executive producer's garden.3

The series moved to BBC One for the second series.4 Titchmarsh left in 2002. Kirsty King joined the team after Titchmarsh left.

A number of new five-minute segments were filmed for Ground Force Revisited and appended onto repeats of earlier episodes, where Dimmock and Walsh revisited the garden concerned to surprise the owners and see how the gardens had developed.

The series was credited with helping the increase in sales of garden decking in the late 1990s and early 2000s due to its use during the series. Retailer B&Q had sales rise from £5,000 in 1997 to £16 million in 2001.5

The series was cancelled in 2005. Describing its cancellation, BBC Director-General Mark Thompson said that the series was "reaching the end of its natural life" and that "the public do get very cross when they see the BBC flogging a dead horse".46

At its peak, the series attracted 12 million viewers.7 Repeats of Ground Force are currently shown on Home.

Music

The theme music for the series was performed by the Black Dyke Band,8 and included the following pieces:

  • Ground Force Theme — played during the show's opening and closing.
  • The Titchmarsh Warbler — a fast tempo piece usually played during the rush to complete the garden.
  • Lament of the Dandelion — played near the end of the show as Titchmarsh surveyed the completed garden.

Specials

Jill's Garden in Weston-super-Mare, built by the team in memory of Jill Dando. source ↗

The team worked on a number of other special projects, including:

  • a garden in memory of TV presenter Jill Dando in her home town of Weston-super-Mare9
  • the New York Restoration Project garden near Ground Zero in New York, for singer Bette Midler10
  • an Old Servicemen's Home garden in Jamaica
  • a Children's Home garden in New Delhi, India
  • the home of former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela11
The Africa Garden at the British Museum. source ↗

The Ground Force team's final episode was aired in July 2005. It took place in the forecourt of the British Museum in London, where the team designed and created the Africa Garden as part of the Africa 05 celebration,12 the biggest celebration of African culture organised in the UK. The design of the garden features temperate, tropical and desert zones.

International versions

A New Zealand version of Ground Force aired on TV One from 1998 to 2003. It was titled Firth Ground Force, named after a local concrete and masonry company.

In 2000, the producers sought legal advice after accusing the Nine Network in Australia of producing a "carbon copy" of Ground Force entitled Backyard Blitz. A legitimate Australian version of Ground Force was already in production, and aired shortly after on the Seven Network.7 While this version of Ground Force was short lived, Backyard Blitz continued on until 2007.

Ground Force America is the American version, presented by Dimmock and Walsh. It began airing in 2003 on BBC America, and it was the channel's first original production. The channel had been airing the UK version since 1999.13

Top Gear and Ground Force Crossover 2008

On 14 March 2008, Top Gear "resurrected" Ground Force in a Sport Relief special called Top Ground Gear Force where the presenters of Top Gear conducted a Ground Force style show on Sir Steve Redgrave's garden, who was livid at the intrusion.14

Transmissions

Original series

A total of 115 episodes of Ground Force were produced and shown (82 episodes comprising series 1–12 plus 15 specials), as well as an additional 12 episodes that make up Ground Force America:

Series Start date End date Episodes
1 19 September 199715 7 November 199716 8
2 30 June 199817 18 August 199818 7
3 10 September 199819 1 October 199820 4
4 12 February 199921 5 March 199922 4
5 15 October 199923 19 November 199924 6
6 10 March 200025 14 April 200026 6
7 29 September 200027 26 November 200028a 6
8 22 April 200130 27 May 200131 5
9 7 January 200232 18 February 200233 6
10 2 September 200234 23 September 200235 4
11 27 January 200336 6 March 200337 5
12 1 March 200438 5 April 200439 6
13 6 December 200440 24 January 200541 6
14 31 January 200542 21 March 200543 8

Specials

Entitle Air Date
Mandela Special 2 January 200044
When Changing Rooms Met Ground Force 12 February 200045
When Changing Rooms Met Ground Force 2 24 October 200046
Goes Air Force 11 December 200047
Goes East 18 April 200148
A Garden for Jill 24 August 200149
Goes West Indies 3 March 200250
Goes South Atlantic 16 June 200251
in New York 25 August 200252
The Italian Job 5 December 200253
Goes Festive 25 December 200254
Does Mardi Gras 21 April 200355
Goes to Ethiopia 29 December 200356
Goes to Hollywood 2 May 200457
Goes Merseyside 23 June 200458
On the Road to Marrakech 29 December 200459
A Garden for Africa '05 24 July 200560b

Ground Force America

Series Start date End date Episodes
1 21 July 200363 8 September 200364 7
2 5 July 200465c 2 August 200467 5
  1. The final episode of that season was originally scheduled to air on 3 November 2000.29
  2. This special was originally scheduled to air on 7 July 2005,61 but was postponed due to that day's London bombings.62
  3. This season's first episode was scheduled to air on 28 June 2004,66 but was postponed until 2 August, becoming the last episode of that season.
References

References

  1. Craig Gray, Laura (18 February 2009). "Media revolution: Tomorrow's TV". BBC News Online. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
  2. "Meet Charlie Dimmock". Home. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
  3. "Meet Tommy Walsh". Home. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
  4. Born, Matt (4 March 2005). "Ground Force axed by BBC before its viewing figures wilt". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
  5. "The rise of the green-fingered criminal". The Independent. London. 15 April 2001. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
  6. "Ground Force 'coming to its end'". BBC News Online. 3 March 2005. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
  7. Robins, Jane (27 April 2000). "Ground Force may sue Australian 'copy'". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 19 August 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
  8. Herbert, Ian (4 July 2000). "Black Dyke band sacking leaves top trumpeter feeling brassed off". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 11 May 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
  9. "A memorial to Jill Dando". The Weston Mercury. Archived from the original on 19 August 2007. Retrieved 23 June 2007.
  10. "Ground Force creates NY tribute". BBC News Online. 15 August 2002. Retrieved 7 November 2007.
  11. Kelly, June (14 December 1999). "Mandela's green-fingered makeover". BBC News Online. Retrieved 7 November 2007.
  12. "An Africa Garden". British Museum. Archived from the original on 31 October 2007. Retrieved 7 November 2007.
  13. Robertson, Colin (27 January 2003). "Ground Force crosses the pond". Broadcast. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
  14. Top Gear: Top Garden Ground Gear Force Archived 15 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine
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  55. "Ground Force Does Mardi Gras – BBC One". Radio Times. London, United Kingdom. 21 April 2003. Retrieved 1 March 2026 – via BBC Genome Project.
  56. "Ground Force Goes to Ethiopia – BBC One". Radio Times. London, United Kingdom. 29 December 2003. Retrieved 1 March 2026 – via BBC Genome Project.
  57. "Ground Force Goes to Hollywood – BBC One". Radio Times. London, United Kingdom. 2 May 2004. Retrieved 2 March 2026 – via BBC Genome Project.
  58. "Ground Force Goes Merseyside – BBC One". Radio Times. London, United Kingdom. 23 June 2004. Retrieved 2 March 2026 – via BBC Genome Project.
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External links