Alan Titchmarsh is a blurry viral sensation in North Korea

Alan Titchmarsh, the British celebrity gardener, is a big hit in North Korea - correction, the top half of Alan Titchmarsh is a big hit in North Korea.

His bottom half is censored, because the blue jeans he gardens in are claimed to be a symbol of American imperialism.

Titchmarsh has gone viral after North Korean state television censored British broadcaster's  jeans during an airing of the BBC gardening show "Garden Secrets." The ban on jeans has been in effect since the early 1990s, after it was initiated by former leader Kim Jong Il, who declared jeans as incompatible with the country's socialist lifestyle.

In a recent episode focusing on the 17th-century Hatfield House gardens in the UK, North Korean broadcasters applied a blurring effect to Titchmarsh's legs, attempting to obscure his denim jeans.

The gardening show was reportedly edited for North Korean audiences with the original hour-long episodes cut down to around 15 minutes, and it overlaid the original British commentary with Korean narration along with a soundtrack of instrumental music.

Titchmarsh has, meanwhile, expressed his surprise and said he hoped that the peaceful nature of British gardening would resonate well with the North Korean audience.

Media reports convey a range reactions to the reported North Korean censorship of Western symbols, like jeans, in the gardening show. Reports showed degrees of scepticism about the regime's intentions and its selective embrace of foreign content.

Some reports emphasize the absurdity and selectiveness of North Korean censorship, highlighting the regime's attempts to maintain a strict control over cultural influences while engaging with selected aspects of Western media.

This coverage could be seen as reflecting political and cultural bias.