Rachel De Thame
| Rachel De Thame | |
|---|---|
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De Thame at the 2009 Hampton Court Flower Show | |
| Born |
13 October 1961 London, England |
Rachel De Thame (born Rachel Cohen on 13 October 1961 in London) is an English gardener and television presenter.
Biography
From the age of 10, De Thame studied ballet to a professional standard at the Royal Ballet School, White Lodge, Richmond Park.[1] De Thame contracted glandular fever at age 15, and eventually chose to give up her dream of a dancing career at age 19. She then undertook a part-time evening course in Drama at Southgate College in 1979-80 and studied History of Art at London's City Lit, after which she worked for a short period for a well-respected international firm of art dealers in London.[2] She then married for the first time.
While pregnant with her first baby, de Thame was recruited by a modelling agency and went on to enjoy a successful modelling career. A major part of Rachel's modelling included appearances in TV ads - where she met her second husband - and casting agents soon began to suggest De Thame for acting roles. By 1998, she had appeared in the mini-series Merlin and in the British feature film Bodywork; credited in both productions as "Rachel Colover".
However, as a long-term career, acting was not Rachel’s ideal choice so late in 1998 she enrolled at the English Gardening School, indulging an inherited passion from her father. After earning a certificate in Practical Horticulture and Plants & Plantsmanship,[3] she immediately auditioned for BBC2’s Gardeners' World. Initially a weekly presenter, following the birth of her second child from her second marriage she now (as of 2014) makes occasional appearances on the programme. She has also filmed her own series for the BBC, Small Town Gardens and Gardening with the Experts. De Thame has co-presented the BBC's annual coverage of the Chelsea Flower Show, Hampton Court Flower Show as part of the Royal Horticultural Society output on BBC 2. Other television appearances include Going for a Song and Call My Bluff, both for the BBC.
In 2008 De Thame designed the 2008 LK Bennett garden at the Chelsea Flower Show.[4]
De Thame has written two gardening books, Small Town Gardens and Rachel de Thame's Top 100 Star Plants, and co-wrote Gardening with the Experts. She currently writes a monthly horticultural column for The Sunday Times and has also contributed to the gardening pages of The Daily Telegraph, Gardeners' World Magazine, Woman's Own Magazine, Eden Magazine.
In 2013, she presented two episodes of Great British Garden Revival, and will present two more due for broadcast in early 2015.
Personal life
Rachel married her first husband, Stephen Colover, in June 1986. They had two children, Lauren and Joe, and divorced around 1993.
Rachel is married to her second husband, Gerard De Thame, and the couple have two children. They live in west London and have a cottage in the Cotswolds, Oxfordshire.[5]
De Thame has a lupin variety named after her.[6]
References
- ↑ "Interview: Rachel de Thame: Mother nurture". London: The Times. 24 June 2004. Retrieved 6 June 2008.
- ↑ Anstead, Mark (18 January 2003). "My first boss: Rachel de Thame". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 6 June 2008.
- ↑ "Presenter biographies - S to T: Rachel de Thame". BBC Gardening website. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
- ↑ "The L K Bennett Garden". RHS Chealsea 2008. Retrieved 6 June 2008.
- ↑ "Rachel de Thame returns to her Cotswolds garden". London: The Times. 1 June 2008. Retrieved 6 June 2008.
- ↑
External links
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