Charlie Dimmock has said her pin-up days are far behind her as she returns to television with a new gardening series.

The horticulturalist became a sex symbol when she appeared on the BBC’s Ground Force between 1997 and 2005, where she was known for going bra-less.

But she told Radio Times that on her new programme, Garden Rescue, she hopes her co-hosts David and Harry Rich get more attention than she does.

“All that was all so silly and a long time ago,” she said.

Charlie Dimmock at the Chelsea Flower Show in London.Charlie Dimmock (Lewis Whyld/PA)

Charlie, 49, said of being on a television show again: “Move along, move along, I’ll say! Look at the boys, they’re much more attractive.

“On this series I can be a grumpy old cow – or, as they termed me, ‘the dragon’, but I hope with love in their voice.”

The star has rarely been on our screens since Ground Force came to an end but said she has never stopped working as a gardener.

She said: “People think that if you’re suddenly not on telly, you’ve stopped working. That doesn’t happen, because we all have mortgages to pay. I had been on TV a very long time (1997 to 2005), but I had always been doing other things.

“Ground Force ran its course. It was of its time. It was good fun, very enjoyable, and it had its run.”

This week’s Radio Times is on sale on Tuesday July 5.