TV chef James Martin has spoken out about a heartbreaking moment that left him in tears while filming a BBC documentary about loneliness which he found “quite fascinating”
Celebrity chef James Martin has revealed he was moved to tears after a devastating moment while filming a BBC documentary about loneliness.
The 53-year-old was speaking on the Routes Podcast with Jenni Falconer when the conversation turned to train etiquette, prompting James to emphasise the importance of engaging with strangers. He then shared a deeply personal account, reports the Express.
He said: “Also just chat to people, just say hi to them, you never know. I did a whole show on the BBC once, it was an eye opener for me. The whole thing was on loneliness and I found this quite fascinating.”
James described how they spoke with someone who had attempted suicide twice.
James added: “And you think ‘How can you think about that with this?’ And then we chatted to another lady, elderly lady that nobody had been in her house for 25 years.
“And the whole world was going by and we just sat there in her living room, elderly lady, I just burst into tears….Just make time for people every now and then.”
This marks another occasion where James has discussed becoming emotional during his television work, with the Saturday Morning presenter previously recalling how he wept upon spotting his father in the audience at one of his live performances.
Speaking to Candis Magazine about the touching moment last year, he recalled how his father Ian was treated to hospitality at the Ritz and his astonishment at seeing his son’s name illuminated outside the Palladium.
James also remembered how, at the show’s opening, he glanced down to see his father gazing up at him, almost bringing him to tears.
He recalled: “I got him a night at the Ritz – I think he was worried he’d have to pick up the bill! – and I took him backstage at the Palladium. He couldn’t believe his son’s name was in lights outside the theatre.
“When I stepped on stage that evening and stood on the cross below which Bruch Forsyth’s ashes are buried, I looked into the audience and the first face I saw was my dad’s. I held it all together throughout the show but I welled up at the end. I completely lost it. The farmer’s kid had made it.”
Previously, alongside discussing his father, James has spoken about his grandmother and his desire to emulate even a fraction of the person she was.
He told the Road to Success with Benedict Fowler podcast: “It sounds daft talking about your granny, but if I could be 10% of what my granny is, I’d be 110% a better person (than I am now).
“My granny, it sounds daft, but my granny was the same (as Queen Elizabeth), because she’d walk into a room and I don’t know if it was how I was brought up, but you were told respect and you shut up and listen. And I valued that so much.”
James Martin’s Saturday Morning broadcasts today from 9.30am to 12pm on ITV.
For emotional support, you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
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