TV chef James Martin reveals chatty secrets of the Queen

ALAn Titchmarsh has a rival for the Queen’s affections. Her Majesty, it seems, has a soft spot for brawny TV chef James Martin, even requesting a private hour- long

tete-a-tete with him when she invited him to lunch.

‘ I was invited to Buckingham Palace,’ recalls the 45-year-old Yorkshireman. ‘I presumed it was a 300seater reception job but when I got there, it was just six for lunch in the dining room — the Queen, Prince Philip, me and three others.

‘What on earth was a farmer’s boy from the moors doing having lunch with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh? Then things got even stranger.

‘One of Her Majesty’s staff whispered to me that the Queen felt she hadn’t had the chance to have a proper conversation with me, so I was invited to another room after lunch for a chat. It was just me and the Queen — one to one — for about an hour. It was the most surreal moment of my life.’

So what did the pair chat about? ‘The countryside, animals, dogs, life, just general stuff. She’s a wonderful woman and it was a bit like talking to my gran. I’ll never forget it.’

Can a knighthood be far off? It might be further than Martin thinks as it is considered bad form to divulge any conversation one has with a member of the Royal Family.

Other guests at the lunch included retired cricket commentator Henry Blofeld and rhubarb grower Janet Oldroyd Hulme.