Green-fingered heart-throb Alan Titchmarsh is better known for his exploits in suburban back gardens than as an action hero. The former Ground Force presenter leaped into the breach this week, however, to scale a 90-foot cliff after the team with which he had been filming was cut off by the incoming tide.
The crew had been working on a new BBC series The Natural History Of Great Britain when they were forced up onto the foot of the rocks. Alan clambered up the slippery cliff face to raise the alarm.
"Alan started to climb over the sheer slate, clinging to the rocks which were very slippery. He then climbed the harbour wall," said one eyewitness.
Coastguards alerted to the men's predicament apparently advised them to stay put, as the tide had already turned and, as they were in no further danger, needed only to wait until the tide went out.
"Suddenly we realised that we had been cut off by the incoming tide. We were obviously a bit panicky, so we made a decision for me to go," explained the presenter later. "I found the coastguard and they told us the rest of them had to wait exactly where they were for three hours until the tide subsided."
Alan was also in the headlines this week after being voted the ideal next door neighbour in a poll by Halifax Estate Agents. The presenter garnered 28 per cent of the vote, piping fellow celebs Posh and Becks to the post when it came to who voters would prefer to have living nearby.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
