Gardeners’ World presenter Frances Tophill has bravely opened up about her long struggle with dyslexia, a condition that nearly derailed her career in television. Despite battling the learning difficulty, which affects reading and writing, Frances has managed to carve out a successful career both on-screen and in the garden and has not let this get in the way of her career. The star has written five books and completed a degree in horticulture with plantsmanship at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in 2013 Reflecting on how her learning difficulty shaped her journey, Frances explained: “My degree course was supportive of me doing the TV work, but they never imagined I would ever have a career in TV and it would never have occurred to me.
" Her shyness as a child only added to her hesitation about pursuing a public career: “I was really shy as a child. “When I was a teenager, I used to be in bands with my sisters and found it so nerve-wracking I had to give it up. If you had told me then I was going to be a TV presenter I would have said, ‘no, no, no!’” Overcoming her personal and professional doubts wasn’t easy.
Frances shared: “I was terrified when I first did it. I am still very shy. I have to channel something to do it; I have to find something internal that says it isn’t really me.
” But, despite these challenges, Frances persisted and has since flourished both on and off-screen. Frances first ventured into television while still a university student,.