James Martin talks major career decision that left mum 'in tears' in rare family admission

James Martin

James Martin has opened up about how his family has taken to his career in the spotlight over the years, in a rare admission about his personal life. The chef is best known for his work across BBC cookery series Saturday Kitchen, and more recently, his ITV show Saturday Morning with James Martin, but to get to that point took a lot of hard work behind-the-scenes.

James' love for food came from growing up in a family of farmers on the Castle Howard estate, where he helped his mum in the kitchen. With a passion for cooking, he swiftly realised he wanted to become a chef and went on to get the qualifications and put the hours in.

In a podcast last year, the 51-year-old gushed over his family being supportive along the way and how some of his hard work once left his mother in tears. Quizzed on how his loved ones had coped with his career and fame, he shared: "They're still grounded, they're still the same people."

James went on to say his family still don't hold back on their thoughts and often tell him that his "hair is a mess" or that his "shoes don't match" his top when on television. Such comments, he admitted, are welcomed, as he'd rather people be honest than tell him "'you're amazing' and all this rubbish, because you're not".

He added: "You're just the same as you were when you were a kid. All you can be, in terms of what I can be, is better than you were yesterday. And that's all you strive to be, that's the ethos that I've always had and my family have always been honest."

James Martin

James said it had been a pleasure to share his success with his family and that his "greatest achievement" to date was buying his mum a house.

"You wouldn't have dreamed about that when I was a young kid working in London when my mum used to visit me and cry her eyes out and say, 'What are you doing working 19 hours a day?'

"She'd sit and cry her eyes out but you stick at it, not because you wanted to do it financially or because it becomes Instagrammable or Twitter and all that sort of stuff, you stick at it because it was the job you love," he added on The Travel Diaries podcast.

James trained as a chef at Hostellerie De Plaisance, Saint-Émilion in France followed by the three-star-Michelin restaurant Maison Troisgros in Roanne, before returning to London to work in various restaurants.

He first appeared on television in the late 1990s on programmes including; James Martin: Yorkshire's Finest, Ready Steady Cook and The Big Breakfast.

After several more appearances on TV, James began fronting his own show on the BBC, Saturday Kitchen.

The presenter fulfilled the role for 10 years before jumping ship to ITV for his current show, James Martin's Saturday Morning.

While much is known about his career, James prefers to keep his private life away from the public eye and rarely speaks about his loved ones.

Back in 2020, however, during an interview with Prima Magazine, the chef said "the biggest low" in his career was that he had "given up everything for it", including not having children.

The chef went on to say that he often looked at his pals who have families and reflected on his life choices that had always been fuelled by his workload.

"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," he added.

At the time, James was in a relationship with Louise Davies, whom he split from last year. The ITV star is now dating Kim Johnson, the ex-wife of millionaire Arun Nayar.