WHEN former soldier Gary Mannion and his wife Andrea bought their first home together in Devizes after years of living in married quarters they set about renovating every room but had little time or money left for the garden.

So the couple applied to the BBC's new Garden Rescue show and were delighted when they were chosen to take part.

Mrs Mannion, 39, of Broadleas Crescent said: "We applied to take part via the website and were really pleased to be chosen. I think it was probably the military background that swung it for us.

"We had been spending all of our time renovating the house and didn't think we would ever find time to do the garden properly."

The couple particularly wanted to make it special for their three-year-old son Norman who they only conceived after years of trying.

Mrs Mannion said: "We were about to go down the IVF route when I found out I was pregnant. We wanted the garden to be a place Norman could enjoy and we could all do things together. My favourite part is a potting corner they created for Norman."

The programme, which is a TV comeback for Charlie Dimmock who sprung to prominence with BBC show Ground Force in the 1990s for more than just her gardening prowess as she preferred to go braless, allows householders to pick between two designs.

Ms Dimmock went head to head with gardening brothers Harry and David Rich, who won a gold medal at Chelsea Flower Show in 2015, for the right to design the garden.

The TV cameras first arrived in Devizes in March to film the pitch, which was won by Ms Dimmock, and then returned in May to film the transformation. The episode, which shows how the Mannion's £1,500 was used to create hard landscaping and planting, was aired earlier this month.

Driving instructor Mrs Mannion said: "We chose Charlie's design as she really seemed to understand what we wanted. We felt her scheme made better use of our money on plants. In her design you could really see where the money was being spent.

"We are very pleased with the result and think it will continue to get better and better as it matures. Charlie was lovely and very friendly."

The couple first moved to Wiltshire when Mr Mannion, 41, was posted to Tidworth with his REME battalion. He now works for John Deere tractor suppliers in Tilshead.

Mrs Mannion said: "We really liked Wiltshire and wanted to stay. All of neighbours were great during the filming. They were interested to see what was going on."