TV and Twitter fame for "Garden Centre Guy"

The owner of The Secret Garden Centre in London has gained Twitter fame after appearing in an episode of the BBC's Young Apprentice last week, during which he refused to give young contestants a discount on an olive tree.

The Young Apprentice candidates tried to sweet-talk a discount. Image courtesy of @bbcapprentice

The young entrepreneurs pleaded with Roger Cox, who has been running the Crystal Palace garden centre more than 25 years, for a discount on the plant as part of the 'theatre prop' task, where candidates must acquire as many items on a list for as little money as possible. Mr Cox initially refused them, pointing out: "Why should I give you a discount?" and "Do I ask my staff for a discount on their wages?"

When contestant David Odihambo, 17, said they were desperate, Mr Cox coolly replied, "if you're desperate you would pay anything."

The teenagers got the last laugh, however, when candidate Lucy Beauvallet noticed a '10% off houseplants' sign and persuaded Mr Cox that the olive tree could be defined as such. She was eventually granted 10% off.

Since then Mr Cox, aka '#gardencentreguy' has gained a mixture of notoriety and respect on social network site Twitter, helped along by Lord Alan Sugar's tweet to 2.5m followers: "Do you think the garden centre man is a relative of Bill Oddie? The garden centre man is a real character."

Since the episode aired last Thursday, Mr Cox says he has put up a tongue-in-cheek sign saying 'no discount' at The Secret Garden. However, the retailer's website draws attention to its appearance on the programme alongside a 3 for 2 offer on bulb packs.

Source: DIYWEEK.net – essential reading for the DIY trade