'A Scottish national treasure': Beechgrove Garden presenter Jim McColl dies aged 89

Jim McColl - the long-running presenter on BBC Scotland programme The Beechgrove Garden - has died aged 89.

Born in Kilmarnock, McColl hosted the popular BBC gardening show from its original launch in 1978 until he retired 41 years later in 2019.

Former Beechgrove Garden presenter Jim McColl. Picture: BBC | BBC

In a statement confirming his death on Tuesday, McColl’s family said he had dedicated decades to sharing “his passion for gardening” with television audiences.

The McColl family said: “It’s with a heavy heart we share the passing of Jim McColl, husband, dad and grandad, who passed peacefully yesterday. He will be hugely missed not only by us, but by his friends, colleagues and a nation who he shared his passion for gardening with over four decades at The Beechgrove Garden.”

The Beechgrove Garden had grown out of McColl’s participation in a Radio Scotland series The Scottish Garden. Over the years he became known for his catchphrase “every day’s a school day” while presenting the show.

BBC Scotland will air Jim McColl At 80 at 8pm on November 4, celebrating the life and times of the gardening journalist.

Colleagues on the programme have described McColl as "a local hero first and a Scottish national treasure next".

BBC Scotland's acting director Geraldine McCartney said in a statement: "His expert gardening advice and wisdom on The Beechgrove Garden was invaluable to green-fingered viewers over the decades and he will be greatly missed by all.

"Loved by viewers across the nation, he’ll be especially missed in the North East, where he was a much-cherished part of the BBC Scotland and Tern TV teams for many years. Our thoughts are with Jim’s family, friends and colleagues.”

Harry Bell, managing director at programme producer Tern TV, said: “Here’s to ‘our’ lovely Jim, who for four decades presented The Beechgrove Garden for us with a spring in his step, a twinkle in his eye and a kind word for all folk.

“You’ll be fair missed Jim. You were a local hero first and a Scottish national treasure next. Thank-you for your immense contribution to gardening, broadcasting and steering so many of us on life’s muddy paths.”

McColl had started out with a career in academic horticulture. He taught at a series of universities and colleges before working for the Ministry of Agriculture, based in Leicester.

He would go on to host The Beechgrove Garden alongside co-presenter George Barron, with the pair embracing a programme that explored the challenges of the northern growing season.

McColl would say in a BBC documentary in 2015 that gardening was "part of the fabric of our lives". "You are much influenced by your environment and that was part of mine," he said.

Jim McColl of the Beechgrove Garden in Falkirk in April 1985 | NationalWorld

McColl had retired from presenting the hugely popular gardening show in 2019. He said at the time: “I’ll be 84 next birthday, so things are going wrong … in the sense that if I get down on my knees, I’m not sure I can get back up again.”

McColl revealed at the time he had a “neuropathy thing” with his hands which has left him struggling to grip gardening tools.

He said: “One of the things you want to do when you are showing off on telly, is you want to do it properly.”