Ruggedly handsome, humorous, down-toearth James Martin was, for a good 10 years, one of the best reasons to turn on your TV of a Saturday morning.
So when the Yorkshire-born celebrity chef, 44, announced he was quitting his regular slot on BBC One’s Saturday Kitchen, it left viewers bereft.
Now, four months on, James has revealed the horrific incident that prompted his shock decision to go.
‘At an awards ceremony in Dubai last year, a bloke on stage dropped dead, eight feet away from me,’ said James.
‘He was my age, and had a similar job. At that moment, I decided my career had to change.’
There were rumours that James was leaving the show due to budget cuts and even, hilariously, because he didn’t like an alleged ‘no cooking…
