When Phillipa Orme got back from a business trip and joked, "Alan Titchmarsh hasn't been to do the garden, then," little did she know...

The camera crew for BBC2's Ground Force programme had actually been to her West Hanney home to check it out. And her mum Jean had gone to great lengths to keep the makeover secret.

Phillipa's partner, Fletch, and the whole family were in on the plan and when the BBC decided to go ahead with the rockery, the plot thickened. Jean began organising secret liaisons with the TV crew and there were several hairy moments when they thought their cover was blown.

But when Phillipa eventually saw the finished article, Jean knew it had all been worth it just to see the look on her daughter's face.

The whole adventure began one evening while watching the gardening programme.

Phillipa casually mentioned that her fantasy was to to come home and be greeted by Alan Titchmarsh with a glass of Champagne. So Jean wrote to the BBC.

She said: "I did not expect to be taken up on the offer because so many people write in, but apparently they all ask for the same thing and Alan fancied doing a rockery."

As Phillipa works from home as a conference organiser, getting her out of the house for two days proved difficult.

An elaborate plan was hatched which involved Jean creeping through fields behind the church to meet the camera crew with her mobile phone, so that Phillippa - driving to her sister's house on the way back from the school run - didn't spot them. "It must have looked like a bad sitcom," Jean said.

Fletch organised a weekend in the Lake District over Easter.

But another problem was how to get a shot of Phillipa, who's in her 30s, on film without her twigging the reason.

So a camera crew trapped her at the supermarket and pretended they were doing a survey on drinking.

Jean explained: "I knew she would kill me if they saw her looking scruffy so Fletch said he was taking her out to lunch to make sure she was looking good for the cameras."

When the actual makeover materialised it was all hands on deck. The gardening team of four was boosted by Phillipa's brother Jeremy and dad David, and watched by her son Craig and nephew Sam.

The rockery took longer than expected and when a drain was found on the proposed site the team feared the worst - until a neighbour assured them it led to a redundant septic tank.

They finished the final touches just as Phillipa pulled up in her car. She said of the dramatic moment: "I was so shocked. It was wonderful. I couldn't believe my whole family were so secretive and no-one let the cat out of the bag."

Alan Titchmarsh agreed. He told Jean at the end of the programme: "I never imagined the local secretary of the WI could lie so convincingly."

As for the finished result, you can judge for yourself. It's being aired next Tuesday, July 14, on BBC2 at 8.30pm.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.