TV gardener and talk show host Alan Tichmarsh has expressed his admiration for Nigel Farage and hinted that he backs the party’s policies. Although the ‘Ground Force’ star refused to disclose his voting intention in an interview for the Daily Mirror he did criticise uncontrolled Eastern European immigration.
Mr Titchmarsh is known to be a close friend and confidant of HRH The Prince of Wales – they met as a result of their mutual interest in gardening. Despite his working class northern upbringing Titchmarsh is seen as an establishment figure, and if he does formally declare for UKIP it will be yet another major breakthrough for Nigel Farage.
Titchmarsh said: “We have a problem in this country in that we’re just not big enough to take everybody who wants to come here. There are a lot of people in Eastern Europe who want to move here because we have a good reputation for looking after people.”
But he adds: “I do think we have a problem in that if people come over here they are instantly allowed benefits with rather too much ease. I think, ‘If I moved to a foreign country, what would I do?’ I’d keep my own identity but I would feel some kind of obligation to fit in, to learn the language.”
When he was asked specifically about UKIP he said: “I have some sympathy with the clarion wake-up call they’re trying to give the country.”
He also praised Nigel Farage: “He’s saying what a lot of people, what the electorate, seems to think a lot of politicians are frightened of saying. He’s a good orator. He’s a populist. He’s a man people warm to.”
When Breitbart London spoke to UKIP members about the potential of Alan Titchmarsh backing the party they were delighted. One said: “The guy is an absolute legend, we’ve got to get him to one of our events.”
Titchmarsh was awarded Membership of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2000 New Year Honours for services to horticulture and broadcasting, and made a Deputy Lord Lieutenant of the County of Hampshire in 2001.
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