Monty Don, the 52-year-old presenter of Gardener’s World, announced last night that he is giving up his televison work for the foreseeable future while he recovers from a minor stroke.

He withdrew from presenting six weeks ago after falling ill in late March or early April. He is staying with his family and is not planning to do any work, his agent said last night.

Araminta Whitley, Don’s agent, said that he was an incredibly healthy man who would bounce back after a period of rest. “Monty is surrounded by his family and good friends and I’m sure that he will make a full recovery,” she said.

A friend said that Don had a heavy work schedule last year but this may not be related to the stroke. “He is a very fit man and I am sure he is going to make a good recovery, but the most important thing in these circumstances is to take a rest from everything,” the friend said.

Don is understood to have been with his family when he fell ill. He is renowned for his resilience, having fought seasonal affective disorder and worked his way back from financial hardship when his jewellery business collapsed in the late 1980s.

In a statement, the BBC said that the star was making “a good recovery”. It said: “Monty Don has decided to stand down as the main presenter of Gardener’s World. Monty has presented the series for the past five years but has been off our screens for the past six weeks as a result of a minor stroke.

“Although he is making a good recovery he feels unable to commit to regular filming for a while.”

It added that Don would be “sorely missed by viewers and the production team”.

Don issued a statement saying that he had enjoyed every minute of sharing his passion for gardening with the programme’s viewers.

“I intend to take some gardening leave for the rest of the summer to make a full recovery and so that I am ready to tackle new projects,” he said.

The German-born presenter followed in the footsteps of Percy Thrower, Geoff Hamilton and Alan Titchmarsh when he took over as the main presenter of the long-running programme in 2003.

It came after stints as the resident horticulturist on This Morning. Other programmes he has presented include the Channel 4 series Don Roaming and Real Gardens.

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