Charlie and her ex were together for more than a decade

The ex of Charlie Dimmock previously shared how he was left “devastated” after catching her having an affair with her Ground Force colleague.

Charlie, 59, became a household name in the late 1990s when she shot to fame hosting Ground Force alongside fellow green-fingered TV star Alan Titchmarsh. And Charlie – who is on screens this weekend (September 28) for Garden Rescue – won over an army of fans who were left swooning at their screens.

Away from the cameras, though, Charlie shocked fans when news of a surprise affair with a mic operator on the show came out in the early 2000s.

Charlie shot to fame in the 1990s (Credit: SplashNews.com)

Charlie Dimmock had an affair with Ground Force colleague

For 13 years, Charlie was in a long-term relationship with John Mushet. The pair met in New Zealand in the early 1990s while Charlie was travelling around the country. However, their romance all ended in disaster (and tears), when John found out she was having an affair with her Ground Force colleague.

In a past interview, John recalled how he answered a call from the show’s sound technician, Andy Simmonds – who wanted to speak to Charlie.

Intuition kicked in for John and he went to confront Charlie outside – who was taking part in a photoshoot.

Charlie admitted to having an affair (Credit: BBC)

Charlie’s partner confronted her

As FreeLibrary reports, John said: “I went into the garden and said: ‘Your mate Andy’s just called.’ She went white. She tried to say he was just a friend and they had met for a few drinks in a bar in Winchester. I said: ‘If he is a friend why didn’t you invite him to the house?’” he added.

However, things took a dramatic turn later on in the evening. John revealed to Charlie that he would spend the rest of his life wondering if she had ever been with Andy. And he said this prompted her to tell him about her affair. “She finally admitted she had. I was devastated.”

Heartbroken, John left their home in Romsey, Hampshire, jumped into his car, and began to drive.

“I nearly topped myself, I was belting down the road getting up to 90mph. I could see a car coming in the opposite direction. And I knew I was going to swerve into its path and that would be the end of the pain.

“Then at the last moment I thought that the chap coming the other way might have children and I bottled out,” he candidly shared.

No regrets

Charlie has spoken about the affair that ended her long-term romance, too.

She said she had no regrets over her relationship with Andy. Speaking the year after her affair ended, Charlie said: “I don’t see Andy any more, but I don’t regret what happened.

“You’d never do anything if you kept worrying about what might go wrong.”