Don told the Daily Telegraph: "The recent financial crash and our disillusionment with politicians and our general feeling of mistrust and lack of control means that people are hungry for skills, crafts and things that take time, things that are difficult and knowledge that can't be learnt in a few weeks but needs dedication.
"The truth is that people are now thinking ‘maybe it will take me a year to learn something and that's all right, that's possible because the rewards will come'," he said.
"We have become a society that wants instant gratification, instant consumption and I think people are increasingly feeling that is not the way to go. There are other kinds of gratification for the slower, and the more you put in the more you get out.
"If people can make a living from it, that is a kind of wealth that modern life hasn't been very good at supplying," he said.
The new BBC2 series of six-hour-long programmes, scheduled for February, will see three contestants studying with master craftsmen and women in metalwork, woodcraft, stone masonry, glassmaking, thatching and weaving.
BBC2 controller Janice Hadlow said: "I'm delighted to welcome Monty back to BBC2 in an innovative format that goes back to basics. There is no doubt in these credit crunch times there has been resurgence in our interest in traditional crafts and BBC2 is always keen to explore new areas and reflect the interests of the nation."
Thanks for the heads-up!
