LL Cool J ‘chased Gardeners’ World host Monty Don to ask for a selfie as rapper reveals himself to be a VERY unlikely fan of the BBC horticulturist’

LL Cool J is said to have chased Gardeners’ World presenter Monty Don to ask for a selfie after they both appeared on BBC Breakfast on Monday.

The American rapper, 56, real name James Todd Smith, is said to have stopped the BBC horticulturist in the corridors of the studios in Salford, where he has emerged as a huge fan.

The mirror reports that host Nina Warhurst said she “heard in the office hallway… LL Cool J and entourage telling Monty Don they are big fans and asking for a selfie.”

The 69-year-old gardener, who has been a regular face on British TV since 1989, has gained fame in the United States in recent years after his show American Gardens debuted in 2020.

LL’s make-up artist is also said to have laughed off the chance meeting, revealing that Monty had had a ‘huge impact on her life’ and was someone she ‘never thought she would meet’ – before thanking her boss for its introduction.

The American rapper is said to have stopped the BBC horticulturist (photo) in the corridors of the studios in Salford, where he emerged as a big fan.

The gardener (L), who has been a regular face on British TV since 1989, has gained fame in the United States in recent years after his show American Gardens debuted in 2020

It comes after Monty revealed the baffling reason he always wears a scarf in Gardeners’ World.

Speaking to the Gardeners’ World podcast, he told Nicki Chapman why he is always seen with a very similar wardrobe: ‘Because we film out of order, I always wear a scarf while filming.

‘Cause when you see me in a crowd, even if I get the other things a little wrong, if I have the scarf the same, you miss the face, the shirt might have a collar or no collar, or it might have a different shade of blue.

“It was a trick someone told me about 20 years ago: if you have a hat, a bag or a scarf, people notice.”

He also revealed the shocking moment he was hosed down by producers on the BBC set.

Monty explained, “We were filming and it was raining. The camera got wet so we had to stop, luckily the electronics were fine.

‘The producers said ‘we started this shot, we have to finish it’. So we put the camera back up, took out a hose and someone stood there and rinsed me off for continuity.

‘Otherwise I would have gone in wet and come out dry.’

According to reports, host Nina Warhurst said she “heard in the office hallway… LL Cool J and entourage telling Monty Don they are huge fans and asking for a selfie”

LL’s make-up artist is also said to have gushed about the chance meeting, revealing that Monty had had a ‘huge impact on her life’

Hostess Nina Warhurst (photo) heard the unlikely meeting

Monty has previously made a U-turn in his belief that home-grown vegetables are better. He admitted that sometimes store-bought vegetables are just as tasty.

The gardener said he has been growing vegetables since he was a child and admitted he has “steadfastly” adhered to the belief all his life that home-grown food is “always better” than store-bought food.

The TV star said the pleasure of growing his own produce, and eating it in season, will always remain ‘of paramount importance’, but admitted that sometimes other people simply grow finer food.

The presenter admitted that a quarter of the produce he grows in his allotment is thrown away and wondered how often allotment-grown vegetables are eaten ‘with real pleasure’ in Britain.

Don wrote in Gardeners’ World that his homegrown asparagus has “gone into decline” in recent years and “we found the locally grown asparagus to be just as good as ours.”

He said: “I emphasize that this is contrary to all my beliefs to which I have steadfastly adhered throughout my life.

‘I have blindly clung to the belief that home-grown is always better than bought.’

But he clarified: “I’m not abandoning that, but adapting it a little bit.”

Don has been growing vegetables since he was a small child and has previously spoken about the ‘luxury’ of walking around the garden to hand-pick home-grown produce.

It comes after Monty revealed the baffling reason he always wears a scarf in Gardeners’ World