My sister. She is the most loving, positive and generous person I know.

Freddie Flintoff. He played cricket in the best spirit and in his series Field of Dreams, you could see the boys hanging on his every word. He’s a special guy.

Anyone who is a carer.

I'm flighty. Yesterday, Peter Tatchell. Today, Jennifer Saunders.

Rudeness, arrogance and inability to compromise.

Sitting down to supper with family and close friends, either in my garden or on my boat.

Having a family can be a rude awakening for some people but it wasn't like that for me. I've absolutely loved it and I still do. I've got two daughters, Polly and Camilla, in their late 20s now. You get these people who say, "Wait for the terrible twos," and, yes, they've had the odd flounce, but they've got increasingly joyful to be around. My wife Alice and I are very close to them and value their company hugely.

Foolhardiness. I wrote two chapters and a synopsis, sent it off to a publisher, and it sold. That's what emboldened me to continue.

I wish school career advisers were more aware of horticulture. They imagine it's just going out into public parks and pulling weeds up, not a career. But there is garden design, horticultural research, conservation – a whole gamut of angles which are overlooked.

My old French teacher Madame Hawksworth stopped me in Ikley car park and said, 'We never thought you'd amount to much.'