He looked like what I would describe as a typical teacher. I recollect him wearing russet-coloured corduroys and one of those sports jackets with leather patches on the elbows. He had reddish hair and a beard. We did a lot of practicals and his demonstrations always seemed to go wrong. I remember once he made so much smoke in the lab doing an experiment we had to rush out and stand in the quadrangle.

I was also accident-prone. I used to get in a panic in practical exams. I was rather a clumsy teenager and remember having problems doing pitration (where you have to work out the molecular value of a solution). I never seemed to have control of my pipette and instead of releasing one drip at a time, five would come out or none at all, and I had to keep starting again. I was always breaking things. I broke test tubes and over-heated the glass flask so the bottom dropped out. When we had to work in twos, I made sure I paired up with Douglas Mason because he was clever.

By the time I got to the end of my fifth year I remember thinking there was no way I was going to pass my chemistry O-level. I just scraped my mocks and I went to see Mr Woodward in a tizz, and he said: “Well, you should have worked a bit harder, shouldn’t you?” But he went through my books and marked the pages I needed to know to pass the exam and I just learned them off by heart. He also advised me that even if I didn’t know the answer to a question I should write down anything I knew that was relevant. I did, and I passed - though not with flying colours.

I was very quiet at school in the first two years because I came from a different catchment area and had to re-make friends. By the third year I started coming out of my shell a little bit and by the fourth year I was probably too far out of my shell. My chums always knew me as Charlie, but the staff called me Charlotte. I remember when Mr Woodward’s wife was expecting a baby he said in a disparaging way “We’re even looking at Charlotte as one of the names”, which I took as a backhanded compliment.

I did go into the sixth form, but I left after a year. I was doing chemistry, botany, maths and art at A-level. I wanted to be a forensic scientist - I think I’d been watching too many detective programmes - but I didn’t have the brainpower. So after spending the summer holidays working in a garden centre, I switched to horticulture.

At Wellow primary we used to have gardening lessons, which I enjoyed. We could plant what we wanted and I remember growing aubergines but, because they didn’t fruit until August, I had special permission to go back in the holidays to pick them. I never won first prize for gardening, but I think my plot was once awarded a third.

I still live in Romsey and I’ve been back to Mountbatten school a few times to present certificates. I just say “congratulations” and mumble a few words. I can’t read out loud. I get in a right tizzy when I have to speak in public and I stumble over my words.

Gardener and TV presenter Charlie Dimmock was talking to Pamela Coleman.

The story so far

1966 Born in Southampton

1970 Attends Wellow primary school in the New Forest

1977 Attends Mountbatten school, Romsey, Hampshire

1985 Studies for a BTech in amenity horticulture at Cannington College, Somerset

1986-today First job at a water garden centre in Romsey where she is now manager

1991 First television appearance on one-off BBC America gardening programme, Grass Roots

1997 Begins appearing on Ground Force on BBCtelevision

1999-2001 Hosts BBC2 television series Charlie’s Garden Army, Charlie’s Wildlife Gardens and Charlie’s Gardening Neighbours

2001 Learns to be a trapeze artist for Cheer for Charlie programme April 2002 Plans to run the London marathon

May 2002 Publishes Ground Force Container Gardening (BBCBooks)