Ilkley-born celebrity gardener and author Alan Titchmarsh returns to his roots next week to open the town’s literature festival.

He will start the event – the most popular of its kind in the North – at the King’s Hall on Monday.

Mr Titchmarsh, who started his career as a Council gardener, will discuss the latest volume of his memoirs, Knave of Spades.

Mary-Anne Robinson, of Ilkley, who was among the first to buy tickets, said: “I’m really pleased that Alan is opening the event. He is very popular and it will be interesting to hear what he has to say about Ilkley.”

The launch will take place a week prior to the festival this year to fit in with Mr Titchmarsh’s filming schedule.

Thousands of tickets have been snapped up for this year’s celebration.

A total of 16,591 tickets have been sold but organisers say there are many tickets left for exciting events.

The event runs from Friday, October 2, to Sunday, October 18.

Festival co-ordinator Rachel Feldberg said: “We have some 8,000 tickets left to sell, some of which are for some well-known authors indeed.

“It’s not true to say that all the big names have sold out and many people this year are simply phoning the box office and asking what’s on on a particular date, which I think is a really refreshing way to book tickets. People are often surprised at what we have to offer.”

By the second week of sales for the literature festival, organisers had already outsold last year’s entire event. The huge demand for tickets has been met, despite difficulties with the festival website which had to be taken down for technical reasons over the weekend.

Big-name authors who still have tickets available include Keighley-born Oscar-winning screenwriter Simon Beaufoy, of Slumdog Millionaire and Full Monty fame, an evening with poet Roger McGough; crime writer Val McDermid; actress Diana Quick, star of Brideshead Revisited; Yorkshire writer Jack Sheffield; award-winning children’s author David Almond and children’s writer Philip Ardagh.

Also available are tickets to see Girls Night In with authors Marika Cobbold, Adele Parks and Fiona Walker, author and journalist Amanda Craig, political thriller writer Henry Porter, a poetry reading with Moniza Alvi, and an evening of ‘great loves’ with author Jill Dawson, For more information on the festival telephone the box office on (01943) 816714.