COULD you be the new Alan Titchmarsh? The Big Allotment Challenge, a brand-new BBC2 gardening show, is looking for green-fingered contestants to take part, aiming to find those who can dig their way to victory and take the kitchen garden crown.

Entrants must be UK residents aged over 18, and would-be winners are asked to phone 020 7907 3401 or email grow@silverriver.tv for an entry form, with the closing date for entries being midnight on March 13. The series will follow a handful of talented amateur kitchen gardeners as they transform a plot of earth into a patch of beauty and reveal all the possibilities that can be unlocked from allotment growing. You don’t have to have an allotment to enter, however: entries are invited from any keen gardener, whether they focus on window boxes or just general gardening, and the series also goes beyond the growing to showcase those who can make award-winning chutney and fantastic floral arrangements.