TV’s James Martin: I put my chef job ahead of having children
HIS easy charm and mouthwatering recipes have made him a TV staple.
But James Martin says that despite his laid-back manner he has long been focused on success – and that has come at a price.
The TV chef has revealed that he gave up on having a family, prioritising his job instead.
‘The biggest low of my career is that I’ve given up everything for it,’ he told Prima Magazine.
‘I look at my mates and they’re all married with kids, and that’s not the case for me because I’ve been so focused on work.
‘The level of commitment it requires and the choices you have to make have a huge impact. But would I do the same thing again? Probably, because it’s made me who I am. And why does everybody have to follow the norm anyway?’
Martin, 47, who lives with his two dogs in Hampshire, has been dating PA Louise Davies since 2011.
He started out on Ready, Steady, Cook before hosting Saturday Kitchen from 2006 until 2016.
He stepped down after witnessing the death of magazine boss, Dominic De Sousa, who collapsed on stage at the BBC Good Food Middle East Awards in Dubai in 2015.
Speaking to Good Morning Britain after his departure he recalled the shocking incident, telling Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid: ‘I was chatting to him and he stood up on stage and collapsed and passed away in front of me.
‘That was just over a year ago and that was the decision to change.
‘I looked back at all the work I’d done, I’d done like four days off that year and five days off the year before and I thought something’s got to change.’
Now Martin has told Prima that he ‘feels like I’ve got my life back’.
He added: ‘Leaving the show has been beneficial to me and to everyone around me, because I’m healthier, both mentally and physically.
‘I might be busier than ever, but now I can have time with my dogs, time at home, where we record James Martin’s Saturday Morning, and I can decide what to do and when. That puts you in a much better place in your head, and in life.’
Martin also opened up about his weight, saying he has accepted it and that cutting out butter, cream and ‘all the good stuff ’ from his cooking would leave him ‘miserable’.
‘I’ve read all sorts of rubbish about my weight – the worst thing you can do is Google yourself – but I try not to get caught up with the way I look,’ he said.
‘Though I did get a bit of shock recently. My eyesight is starting to go, so I bought a bigger TV for my bedroom, 85 inches big, and I accidentally caught myself on my Saturday morning show. I looked at myself and thought, “Jesus, I look massive! Oh... I am massive!”’
‘I’ve given up everything for it’