James Martin bid a surprise farewell to Saturday Morning viewers after announcing a break from the ITV cookery show.
At the end of the latest episode, which aired on 7 June, the chef revealed the show would be off the air for the summer.
Signing off, he said: “That’s all we have got time for today. A massive thank you to all of my guests. That is also it for the series. Me and the crew are heading off on sunny holidays. Different climates.”
He then turned to the crew and asked them: “Where are you going?” When one shouted back “Portugal”, he quipped: “Yorkshire for me.”
Martin then told viewers: “Until then, thanks for watching. Have a wonderful, fantastic summer. I’ll see you out there wherever you are.”
He also assuaged viewer concern by confirming the break was just temporary.
“We will be back here with more top chefs, other brilliant guests and more delicious recipes later on in the year.
“Thanks for watching. See you again soon – goodbye for now.”
In 2023, Martin apologised for “any offence or upset caused” after being accused of “bullying” his ITV colleagues.
The British chef was reportedly spoken to by the channel following a complaint from an employee described as “his closest colleague”.
This complaint came after the filming of his cookery show James Martin’s Spanish Adventure and, according to Deadline, it was the second one to follow an incident that occurred in 2018. Martin’s production company, Blue Marlin Television, acknowledged the complaints, saying “lessons have been learned”.
It’s been alleged that Martin reduced members of the new ITV special’s crew to tears in front of their fellow employees, and then changed schedules that would have only given them a few hours of sleep. Martin is then claimed to have shown up late despite being the one to change the schedule.
A producer who regularly works with Martin said: “What’s remarkable is I saw this behaviour on every project I did with him and it feels conscious. I think he just feels like it’s OK to behave like that.”
The first complaint, which was made in 2018, came after the chef allegedly grew angry with a member of staff after his drain became blocked while filming an episode of James Martin’s Saturday Morning at his home. Those who work on this show said that Martin had been “repeatedly” accused of “inappropriate, intimidating and bullying behaviour”.
In response to the two allegations, Blue Marlin Television told Deadline: “An unfortunate incident occurred after filming James Martin’s Saturday Morning in 2018 where James’s home was badly damaged. Blue Marlin accepted responsibility. James was shocked by what had happened and on reflection acknowledges he responded emotionally, which he wholly regrets. James apologises for any offence or upset caused, as he did at the time to the crew involved.
“Following this and some issues filming James Martin’s Spanish Adventure, James and Blue Marlin Television agree that lessons have been learned which have been discussed with members of the team and with ITV. Blue Marlin Television and James Martin have taken on board ITV’s recommendations and their sharing of best practice, and are in the process of fully implementing.”
However, in a statement to The Independent, the company denied there was “major damage” to his house. The statement continued: “Since the 2018 incident, Blue Marlin Television has continued to film over 500 shows at James’ home. Blue Marlin Television remains committed to ensuring the welfare of all those with whom they work is of the utmost priority.”
Meanwhile, ITV said in response to The Independent: “Following a complaint we received in May from members of the Blue Marlin production team about the filming of James Martin’s Spanish Adventure, we contacted Blue Marlin to discuss these concerns and to understand how the issues raised were being addressed and what actions were being taken. As a result, we made a number of recommendations for Blue Marlin to implement as soon as possible, sharing best practice of some of our own relevant procedures around staff welfare and reiterating our Supplier Code of Conduct.”
It continued: “At ITV people and their welfare are our highest priority. The production companies who make shows for us have primary responsibility for the duty of care of everyone they work with, both on and off screen. We make clear our expectations in this regard as part of our pre-greenlight duty of care processes. This includes having appropriate independent controls in place to enable everyone who works on their shows to confidently and confidentially raise concerns.
Martin has presented Saturday Morning since 2017.
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