Green-fingered TV expert Charlie Dimmock stepped back from her successful career when family tragedy struck in the early '00s.
The Garden Rescue star's mother Sue and stepfather Rob were killed when an earthquake and tsunami hit the coast of Thailand in 2004. The Boxing Day natural disaster in the Indian Ocean killed 5,400 people, including 2,000 foreign tourists.
Charlie, 57, did not speak about the ordeal at the time, with her agent saying in a statement: "It is very upsetting for her. It has been too soon for her to come to terms with it."
Speaking to the Evening Standard when the couple were still missing, her father Terry had said: "She is not coping well as you would expect from someone who fears they have lost their mother. Charlie is worried sick. We have not heard any news at all about Sue and Rob. Charlie had intended to fly out to Thailand but she has stayed here because the Foreign Office advised her a search would be futile."
Ground Force attracted more than 12 million viewers at its height (BBC)Gardener Charlie, known for her flame red hair and casual style at the height of her Ground Force fame, turned down work for the next couple of years as she came to terms with her devastating loss. Known as Sue, her mother Maureen had been 59 and her stepfather Robert 58, both PR consultants from Romsey in Hampshire.
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The star later spoke about the New Forest home she inherited from her mother following her death and how she was adapting it in preparation for when she is older. "I'm probably going to be an old dear living her with my animals, the horse and cats and dogs and I don't want to be unable to get upstairs," she said. "I'm a gardener and we're always planning for the next season. You have to be ahead of the game so you're not caught out by nature and I see this as the same sort of things."
Charlie first shot to fame as part of the incredibly popular BBC Ground Force team, alongside Alan Titchmarsh and Tommy Walsh. The show attracted more than 12 million viewers at its height and ran for eight years until 2005.
When Ground Force began Charlie had been with long-term partner, viticulturalist John Mushet, since the early '90s after they met travelling around New Zealand. They had never married but he lovingly called her his 'missus'.
The star now works on Garden Rescue, which transforms lacklustre outdoor spaces (John Myers)But in 2001 Charlie's short relationship with the show's microphone operator Andy Simmons hit the headlines. The gardener was criticised for her affair at the time but later said: "I don't regret what happened. You wouldn't do anything if you kept worrying about what might go wrong.
"John and I had been together for a long time so when we split up, I relied heavily on family and close friends," she continued, speaking of her long-term relationship ending when her liaison with Andy was revealed. "I've discovered that the most difficult after-effect of the break-up is getting into another relationship." Charlie and Andy didn't last and she went on to date another member of the programme's crew, sound technician Barry Smith.
The star returned to work when she was ready and she has presented BBC One's Garden Rescue since 2016. The gardening expert is thought to be currently single and told the Irish Independent in 2016: "I'm way past marriage at this point. I'm going to be 50 this year. Even sharing a house with someone would be a no for me."
"I like my own company," added the independent star. "I like to do what I want to do, I'm very selfish like that. I don't mind fitting in a bit, but I like to be able to get away and have the house to myself."
Watch Garden Rescue at 5.45pm today, Saturday May 25m, on BBC One and BBC iPlayer
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