TV chef: Why HD cameras forced me to slim

THEY say the camera never lies. So when celebrity chef James Martin noticed he’d put on a bit of weight, he knew it wasn’t just the screen ‘adding on a few pounds’.

Now the star has spoken of the moment he realised he’d developed a ‘bit of a chin’ on TV – and decided to slim down.

The cook has lost almost a stone, realising that high definition technology and huge screens ‘show everything’.

Speaking yesterday at the Chelsea Flower Show, the 45year-old said: ‘I’ve lost a stoneish. I just think it’s a lifestyle thing and also looking at yourself on TV.’ The Yorkshireman, who at one point weighed 19st 7lb, said: ‘I don’t really watch the programmes that I do because you get critical of yourself. You kind of watch and go, “Oh God there’s a bit of a chin happening there”.’ The chef, who presents ITV show Saturday Morning with James Martin, claimed HD pictures made him more self-conscious. He added: ‘And everybody’s TVs are bigger now. Before you used to watch TV on a small one and now they’re massive.’

Martin’s weight has fluctuated over the years. He lost 4st for Strictly Come Dancing in 2005. In 2015 he claimed the cameras added on weight, revealing how fans had said he ‘doesn’t look as fat’ in real life.