MONTY Don says shows like his latest series could be at risk as the cost of a TV licence is frozen for two years.

The 66-year-old broadcaster, who presents BBC Two's Gardener's World from Longmeadow near Leominster, has recently returned to screens with a new series.

The three-part series Monty Don's Adriatic Gardens, which continues at 8pm on Friday, on BBC Two, follows Monty down the coast, the sea separating the Italian peninsula from the Balkans.

But with the cost of TV licences, which help fund the BBC, frozen at £159 for two years, he said series such as his could be at risk.

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Monty said: “Although there is a debate to be had over the extent and duration of the licence fee, the government freeze will save payers the grand sum of 15 pence per week over the coming year."

"However it will mean that programmes like Adriatic Gardens will be much less likely to be made."

The BBC’s director-general warned that adopting a subscription-based alternative to the licence fee risked creating a “commercial agenda” which would mean a substantial change to the corporation’s output.

Tim Davie told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that if the publicly-funded broadcaster became even largely subscription-based, rather than wholly so, it would “not do what it does today”.

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His comments followed confirmation from Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries on Monday that the licence fee is to be frozen until 2024, after which it would rise in line with inflation for four years.

A number of alternatives to the licence fee have been floated, including an opt-in subscription service similar to that used by streaming giants such as Netflix, the introduction of advertising, or a broadband levy.

The licence fee plans will take effect from April 1, and later this year the Government said it would “start to consider the overall governance and regulation of the BBC”.

The Government said in the announcement on Monday that it was part of the mid-term review of the BBC Charter.