She may have been hailed as the sexiest woman in gardening, but Ground Force star Charlie Dimmock admits that finding a man isn’t easy. Until 18 months ago the flame haired presenter was in a relationship with John Mushet, her boyfriend of 13 years. That ended after she had an affair with Ground Force sound man Andy Simmons, however, and finding a replacement seems to be proving a challenge.
“I’ve discovered that the most difficult after-effect of the break up is getting into another relationship,” revealed Charlie this week in an interview with the Daily Mail. “Where do I find someone? I wouldn’t go into a wine bar to look for a man. Nor on a blind date. I could really only meet someone at a party given by a friend, so I could find out their history before getting involved.”
The presenter, whose bra-less persona has taken her from a garden centre assistant to one of the UK’s best known horticultural faces, says she doesn’t regret her fling, however. “I don’t see Andy any more, but I don’t regret what happened. You wouldn’t do anything if you kept wondering about what might go wrong,” she says.
It is obviously this attitude which has inspired Charlie to undertake some of her more challenging on and off screen projects. A self-confessed sufferer of vertigo, she trained as a trapeze artist for a one-off TV special and is all set to compete in this Sunday’s London Marathon. “I feel excited yet apprehensive,” she admits about her new sporty venture. “It’s a challenge, but I’m reasonably confident that I can get round in five hours. That’s quite slow but I don’t want to push myself so hard that I throw up when I cross the line.”
And the inevitable question – bra or no bra? “Just as I wouldn’t consider running such a long distance without trainers, I wouldn’t run unless I wore a sports bra. But I find them quite uncomfortable and will no doubt whip if off as soon as I can.”
Photo: © Alphapress.com
