BBC Creator Lab partners RHS, TikTok to dig up creators keen on gardening

Nicki Chapman and Angellica Bell during BBC coverage of the 2025 RHS Chelsea Flower Show

The BBC is collaborating with TikTok and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) to foster new talent and potentially work together on gardening formats.

BBC Creator Lab, the BBC’s talent discovery and development scheme for social and digital creators with an interest in developing a career in television, is seeking up to 13 creators to take part in its latest scheme.

It is seeking creators who can bring gardening, plants, nature and horticulture to life for young audiences, using engaging, accessible and distinctive social storytelling.

Those selected will have the opportunity to pitch ideas and build relationships with BBC commissioning, production and RHS teams, as well as take part in a two-day BBC Creator Lab content retreat.

They will also have exclusive access to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May and receive training, development and up-skilling from teams at both the BBC and TikTok. Applications for BBC Creator Lab 2026 close on February 8.

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is the most famous flower show in the world and is broadcast each year by the BBC from the Royal Hospital Chelsea, London.

Previous Creator Lab initiatives have seen social and digital creators taking part in Last Pundit Standing, a search to find football experts for BBC Sport, while other members of the BBC Creator Lab creative community have created content for the BBC around Eurovision and Saturday Kitchen.

Fiona Campbell, interim director of unscripted at the BBC, said: “BBC Creator Lab remains a key part of how we identify and support new digital talent for UK audiences. Gardening and horticulture are subjects that connect people to nature, wellbeing and creativity, and this scheme will help us work with creators who can bring those stories to life in modern, engaging ways.”

Dominic Burns, head of operations at TikTok UK, Ireland and Nordics, said: “BBC Creator Lab is a unique initiative that supports and celebrates the next generation of digital talent and we are delighted to continue our collaboration.

“Every day millions of people come to TikTok to discover and learn something new and over the past year we have seen home gardeners, flower enthusiasts and budding horticulturalists thrive on TikTok sharing their passion for nature with a global community.

“BBC Creator Lab will provide an exciting opportunity for creators to turn that creativity into a career in television, and we cannot wait to watch them grow.”