ONES TO WATCH
Who will be the Next Big Thing in 2024? From Alan Titchmarsh to Emma Bridgewater, our experts predict the changemakers we’ll all be talking about
1 THE ACE OF SPADES
When Ashley Edwards made his debut TV appearance last autumn on BBC Gardeners’ World, fans on social media showered him with praise. In his day job, Ashley is head gardener at Horatio’s Garden London and South East, where he looks after the charity’s garden at the London Spinal Cord Injury Centre, and is also working on The Serge Hill Project for Gardening, Creativity and Health in Hertfordshire. “Ashley has a strong affinity with nature and is a great communicator,” Joe Swift says. “After seeing him on Gardeners’ World, a lot of people have been inspired to have a go at growing and gardening.”
2 THE AVIAN ACTIVIST
In November 2022, Hannah Bourne-Taylor walked from Speaker’s Corner to Downing Street naked, painted neck to toe in feathers. It was an arresting way for her to launch a petition for swift bricks to be compulsory in new homes. Lord Goldsmith then tabled an amendment to a bill in the House of Lords. The government has yet to cede to Hannah’s demand, but she has vowed to campaign until her goal is achieved. “I have zero doubt it will be,” Zac says. Hannah is now working on a book about nature campaigning with the RSPB.
3 THE LAD OF THE LAKES
First came Feargal Sharkey. Now, he is joined by abright young water campaigner. Conservationist Matt Staniek runs Save Windermere (savewindmere.com), acampaign to stop all treated and untreated sewage from being discharged into England’s largest lake. His passion began after a car accident left him in a neck brace for two months and he started to notice the decline in biodiversity in the area. Michaela Strachan worked with Matt on her recent Channel 5 documentary, Swimming in Sewage: Britain’s Water Scandal. “Matt is passionate and dynamic,” she says. “He is doing all he can to make a difference.”
4 THE BLOSSOMING PRESENTER
You may well be familiar with Frances Tophill from BBC Gardeners’ World, but for veteran Alan Titchmarsh, the gardener, whose book A Year in a Small Garden is out in April (BBC Books, £26), has plenty more ground to cover. Frances made her TV debut with Alan on ITV’s Love Your Garden in 2012. “Frances is that great rarity – someone who knows their subject well but can also put it over in an engaging fashion,” Alan says. “The fact that she is also huge fun to be with puts her in a class of her own.”
5 THE FLORIST TAKING CENTRE STAGE
As principal dancer with Matthew Bourne’s company New Adventures, Andy Monaghan can usually be found at the barre –when he isn’t at his flower studio in east London, where he grows
