ALAN Titchmarsh will be reunited with his teacher for the first time since junior school when he officially opens Ilkley Manor House on April 5.

Mr Titchmarsh has been invited by the Ilkley Manor House Trust, of which he is patron, to cut the ribbon, at noon by Trustee Chairman Sir Rodney Brooke.

Following a tour he will be joined by 98-year-old Mrs Peggy Lambert for tea and cakes. Alan describes Peggy in his autobiography as ‘strict but kind’ and though 98, Peggy still walks five miles and helps in Oxfam in Ilkley.

After leaving All Saints Junior School at 15, Mr Titchmarsh became an apprentice gardener and then went onto horticultural college. A former ‘Yorkshire Man of the Year’ he has enjoyed a long and celebrated career as a TV and radio presenter, writer, patron of numerous charities as well as renown horticulturalist.

For more information about the community open day on April 5 visit www.ilkleymanorhouse.org