Former president Nelson Mandela was the VIP victim of a BBC television show in which experts spring a surprise garden makeover, the BBC revealed on Tuesday. "Ground Force" has become a British national favourite and is also shown on the BBC's international channel BBC World. It features a team of down-to-earth presenters who sneak in and rearrange a garden while the owner is out. It took the BBC six months to plan the surprise with Mandela's wife Graca Machel and security guards. A delighted Mandela returned from a trip to New York to find a patch of bare ground outside his study transformed into a blooming garden complete with pergola, water feature, slate paving and plants.