Former broadcaster Jim McColl has died aged 88.
The former presenter, known best for his role in Beechgrove Garden, passed away on Tuesday, October 22. His death was announced by his family.
A statement reads: “It’s with a heavy heart we share the passing of Jim McColl, husband, dad and grandad who passed peacefully yesterday. He will be hugely missed not only by us but by his friends, colleagues and a nation who he shared his passion for gardening with over four decades at The Beechgrove Garden.”
McColl, originally from Kilmarnock, hosted the BBC Scotland’s gardening programme since it began in 1978. Colleagues at the show remembered the broadcasting legend as a “national treasure” and a “local hero”.
Harry Bell, Managing Director, Tern TV: “Here’s to ‘our’ lovely Jim who for four decades presented The Beechgrove Garden for us with a spring in his step, a twinkle in his eye and a kind word for all folk. You’ll be fair missed Jim. You were a local hero first and a Scottish national treasure next. Thank you for your immense contribution to gardening, broadcasting and steering so many of us on life’s muddy paths.”
In 2019, at the age of 83, McColl retired from Beechgrove Garden after 41 years on-screen, citing neuropathy in his hands and movement difficulties. At the time, he made the difficult decision to bow out after noticing he was slowly losing the power in his hands.
He said: “It is time I retired, not because I have lost any interest in gardening but because I’m getting old. If I get down on my knees, I’m not sure I can get back up again. I have to have something to lean on.
“I have a neuropathy thing with my hands. I have no strength in my fingers, no grip, and it has just been gradually getting worse.”
Jim trained and worked at the West of Scotland College near Ayr. After a spell down as a gardening adviser in Reading, he moved to Aberdeenshire where he worked on a ground-breaking project – which was featured on Tomorrow’s World – for the Glen Garioch distillery in Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire to use waste energy from cooling whisky to heat glasshouses full of tomatoes.
Alongside co-presenter George Barron, he transformed a plot of land “barely the third of a football pitch” and the roots of the Beechgrove Garden were planted. His life was celebrated in BBC Scotland documentary, Jim McColl at 80, which screened in 2015.
McColol gained a Royal Television Society Scotland award in 2016.
Geraldine McCartney, Acting Director BBC Scotland, said: “We’re saddened to hear of Jim McColl’s passing. His expert gardening advice and wisdom on The Beechgrove Garden was invaluable to green-fingered viewers over the decades and he will be greatly missed by all.
“Loved by viewers across the nation, he’ll be especially missed in the North East, where he was a much-cherished part of the BBC Scotland and Tern TV teams for many years. Our thoughts are with Jim’s family, friends and colleagues.”
Don’t miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond – Sign up to our daily newsletter here.