James Martin Discusses Death That Made Him Quit Saturday Kitchen

published 13 February 2018

He broke the hearts of viewers around the UK when he announced that he would be leaving Saturday Kitchen for good.

And now, James Martin has explained his reason for saying goodbye to the popular BBC cooking show, admitting that a shocking death prompted him to re-evaluate his life.

On Monday's episode of Loose Women, the popular TV chef revealed that the unexpected death of a man he met at a gig abroad left him questioning his priorities.

“I was doing a gig abroad and I was chatting to a gentleman the same age as me. Same work ethic, really keen on work,” James told the panel. “He went out on stage literally five minutes after I spoke to him to present an award. And he was dead before he hit the floor."

The terrifying occurrence clearly hit James hard. But the TV host admitted that it was the impetus he needed to take a step back from his intense work schedule.

“I got back on the plane and thought, now I’m going to readdress the balance.”

James first made the revelation last year. But on the show, he went into more detail about the haunting experience, confessing that dialling back on work has given him a much better work/life balance.

Of his leaving Saturday Kitchen, he said, “Work was a fundamental reason. I hadn’t had a day off for several years, or two days off together for nearly three years.”

“I’ve readdressed the balance, I didn’t have it for 15 years when I had too much television."

MORE: Want To See James Martin In The Flesh? Here’s How…

James appeared on the ITV daytime show to promote his new cooking programme, James Martin’s American Adventure.

The series sees the chef travel to various locations around the US. James then spends sampling America, culinary offerings and also cooking up some of his own. Theshow premiered on Monday, and has gone down well with viewers.

Writing on Twitter, one exclaimed, 'Congratulations on another superb series.'

While another wrote, 'Have just caught up with @jamesmartinchef #AmericanAdventure. Just fabulous! Great locations, beautifully shot and the food: just amazing!! Can't wait for the rest of series.'

Amy Hunt is an experienced digital journalist specialising in homes, interiors and hobbies. She began her career working as the features assistant at woman&home magazine, before moving over to the digital side of the brand where she eventually became the Lifestyle Editor up until January 2022. Amy won the Digital Journalist of the Year award at the AOP Awards in 2019 for her work on womanandhome.com.