Soon to turn 53, James Martin has been on our TV screens for nigh on three decades.
He’s put in stints on Ready Steady Cook and The Big Breakfast, Richard & Judy and Saturday Kitchen.
Now, his main TV gig is Saturday Morning with James Martin, a cookery show for ITV that runs every weekend.
Among platefuls of coq au vin and barbecued leeks, James occasionally gets personal. We recently reported on a rare anecdote about a disaster date involving KFC and “manky bacon”. And an update on his “horrific” cancer battle, which he described as “six years of hell”.
James Martin’s ‘sadness’ at grandmother not seeing him on Strictly
TV chef James Martin competed on series 3 of Strictly Come Dancing, which aired in 2005.
His opponents included Zoe Ball, Patsy Palmer, Olympic hurdler Colin Jackson and snooker player Dennis Taylor. Cricketer Darren Gough emerged the victor, alongside his professional partner Lilia Kopylova, while James came fourth.
Sadly, his grandmother Marjorie passed away before it went to air. She was a “huge fan” of the show, and watched everything he did on telly, so it would’ve been perfect viewing for her.
“Mum is my biggest fan and the most honest person I know,” the Mirror quotes him as saying. “My granny, Marjorie, also watched everything I did. She was a huge fan of Strictly and it’s a sadness to me that she didn’t live long enough to see me take part in 2005.”
She was a ‘huge’ influence in his life
James remembers his grandmother with fondness, and says she was a “huge influence” in his life. In fact, she may have inspired his career choice, albeit inadvertently.
“She baked and cooked and she was just wonderful. If I could be 10% of what she was I’d be a lucky man,” he said.
In the early 2010s, James made a BBC documentary series called Operation Hospital Food, which was also inspired by his nan. Just, not in the way you would have hoped.
She spent the last few months of her life in York Hospital, and James used to drive 200 miles to visit her there. But he was “shocked” by what he saw.
“For someone who’d loved her cakes, her butter and her bacon sandwiches so much, it was heartbreaking. They would bring her mashed potato and meat and pies and tarts that were not just appalling but also chewy and tough.”
So he documented the process of devising a much tastier, more nutritionally complete hospital menu that remained within budget.
Watch James Martin’s Saturday Morning on Saturdays at 9:30am on ITV1.
Read more: James Martin in emotional U-turn as he reunites with estranged dad