Only Dad by Alan Titchmarsh is published in hardback by Simon & Schuster, £16.99. Out now.

FROM the popular best-selling novelist and presenter of Ground Force comes another entertaining book filled with Titchmarsh's familiar blend of romance and humour.

According to their friends, Tom and Pippa Drummond have the perfect existence - a superb lifestyle, a lively marriage and a wonderful child in Tally.

Tom and Pippa are in their late thirties and live in a converted barn on the edge of the Sussex Downs.

While Tom is a partner in The Pelican, a restaurant in Axbury Minster, Pippa grows herbs for sale and brings up the lively Tally, a vivacious 16-year-old with a very mature attitude.

Now a rare summer holiday is planned in an idyllic retreat in the Italian hills.

Tom takes a break from the restaurant, Pippa leaves her herbs in the care of an eccentric neighbour and Tally gives herself some time away from the two men in her life - fast-living Alex and the dependable, ponderous 'Blip'.

Tuscany is everything they hoped it would be - cicadas in the trees, the scent of sage and citrus and suppers under the stars.

But their joy is short-lived as overnight their lives and identities are altered, and things will never be the same again.

From being the envy of their friends, the Drummonds are plunged into a world that nobody would wish upon them.

Steeped in an evocative atmosphere, this is a novel full of fun, laughs and love, and it will satisfy any reader looking for a bit of light-hearted escapism.