Love Your Weekend presenter Alan Titchmarsh has addressed his fears of working in the spotlight amid today's cancel culture.
Since making his first on-screen appearance back in the 1980s, Titchmarsh has pretty much made it 74 having avoided any relatively major on-screen controversies or cancellations.
But ahead of turning 75 next year, Titchmarsh has now admitted he finds cancel culture "terrifying" and even contemplated quitting showbiz for good if the "worry became too much".
Consciously avoiding mentioning the word "woke" in a new interview, Titchmarsh explained: "I fear now that I’m getting too old to subscribe to all the current feelings.
"What worries me most is that there is an ever-growing faction of people that endeavours to say you think this or that, even if that might not be what you said or what you meant.
"Tolerance should work both ways," he surmised. "And I don’t feel it always does entirely."
Alan Titchmarsh has spoken out about cancel culture fears
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The gardener went on to acknowledge that he's "very careful" due to cancel culture's "terrifying" nature as he continued: "And if the point ever came when that strain and that worry became too much, for me or my family, I think I’d say, enough. I’ll go.
"This is the first time I’ve ever admitted that. But I’ve had a good run," he added to the Telegraph.
Titchmarsh also noted to the publication that he finds it "heartbreaking" to witness prominent figures in the world of showbusiness be cancelled at the drop of a hat in recent years.
But while he's not oblivious to the devastating consequences that being embroiled in cancel culture's clutches does to someone, Titchmarsh still has no plans to retire just yet.
In the last few months alone, a number of high-profile celebs have found themselves inadvertently in cancel culture pariahs' sights.
Strictly Come Dancing star Amanda Abbington sparked "boycott" calls from disgruntled fans of the BBC show for her views on trans issues and drag artists on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Abbington released a lengthy video prior to the new series of Strictly to address the furore and, according to new data obtained by GB News, it appears the cancel culture mob's attempts to damage her chances have failed.
Elsewhere, Oscar-winning actor Helen Mirren came under fire for taking on the role of former Israel Prime Minister Golda Meir in an upcoming biopic titled Golda.
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Alan Titchmarsh still regularly appears on-screen on ITV's Love Your Weekend
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As Mirren isn't Jewish, she was criticised for landing the role of Meir and accused of "Jewface" - similar to Bradley Cooper who sported a prosthetic nose in Netflix's Maestro to portray Leonard Bernstein.
Mirren addressed the "authoritarianism" creeping into today's creative landscape thanks to cancel culture as she told Radio Times: "I think, in a way, that it’s more frightening for a writer to be told they are not allowed to write about subjects with which they don’t have an immediate DNA connection.
"I imagine it must be very alarming. And ridiculous."
Titchmarsh returns to screen on ITV's Love Your Weekend every Sunday morning.
