BDHS hosts Gardeners Question Time
Posted by Judy Lambourne on 22 February 2024
As fans of GQT will know the programme typically comes from a village hall or other public venue somewhere in Britain, and even occasionally from further afield, such as in Ireland or Northern France. GQT also often records at special locations throughout the UK including on a moving train, on top of Snowdon, from inside the Tower of London, in December 2016 from the state dining room at 10 Downing Street and on 13th Feb it was recorded at a very special place – the Heart of England School in Balsall Common.
BDHS started communicating with the BBC early in 2023 and towards the end of 2023 we were able to secure a date and begin planning in earnest. Doug Timmis had been involved when The Society last hosted the programme in October 2012 and so initially took the lead with the planning and worked with Marion Keeley to ensure that we had a packed hall for the event. The BBC recorded 2 programmes back-to-back during the evening which will be broadcast on Friday 23rd Feb at 3pm (repeated on 25th Feb at 2pm ) and Friday 15th March at 3pm (repeated 17th March at 2pm). GQT regularly attracts an audience in excess of two million and has answered over 35,000 questions over the years.
Our event was chaired by Kathy Clugston and the audience asked the panel (Bunny Guinness, James Wong & Christine Walkden) some challenging questions, which prompted a degree of lively debate among them as to the likely answers. Some of these have been the subject of ongoing debate amongst our society members! The BBC commented that the whole event ran smoothly in a warm and friendly atmosphere and they felt very well looked after in our corner of the Midlands. To hear which questions make the broadcast versions – remember to tune in.
There are some more pictures in the Photo Gallery section.