Guests from James Martin's Saturday Morning have spoken about their 'unbelievable' discovery behind the scenes after getting to know the chef more off-camera.
Two guests on James Martin’s Saturday Morning show have shared what the chef is really like off-camera. Actors Will Mellor and Ralf Little filmed an episode of the programme last year, where they discussed their latest projects and tried out some of the chef’s recipes.
However, behind the scenes, the pair said they were given a glimpse into a side of James Martin they weren’t expecting.
Recalling his first impressions of the chef’s home, where the show is filmed, Will described it as 'a lovely place'.
In what they referred to as 'the green room', the pair said it was unlike anything they were used to, instead finding a space filled with a pool table, arcade machine, guitars, memorabilia, two of three Ferraris, as well as an old Bentley.
The pair were particularly impressed by James Martin's car collection.
'This man is a collector, and one of his cars, I asked him and I said, ‘Am I alright to tell people?’ and he said ‘No problem’, he bought a car, I think it was a Ferrari, for £500,000, it’s now worth 16 or 17 million,' Will explained.
'He had this collection, he’s showing us around and I’m going, ‘I just thought he cooked up some food’, unbelievable.'
Ralf went on to describe the 53-year-old as 'a great man', to which Will added on their The Two Pints podcast: 'He’s a great guy, a really top guy.'
The former Death In Paradise actor added: 'But he was really sound and when he was showing us all that stuff it wasn’t like... you know some people like to show you their stuff and it can feel a bit like ‘Alright mate, turn it in’, and they’re being a bit showing off, but he didn’t have that at all.
'He was like, ‘If you’re interested, you can have a look’ and we were like, ‘Of course we are!’'
Sharing more about their off-camera chat, the pair said James opened up about how he became so successful.
'There were little bits that he was telling us, which isn’t for public consumption, but about like what a smart businessman he is,' Ralf shared.
'He said he turned up in London in the early 2000s with £20 to his name, literally £20 in his pocket and he’s hustled and invested and taken chances and just gone I’m just going to go for it,' Ralf added.
In a final comment, Will said he has 'loads of time' for James, adding: 'We really liked him, we had a good laugh,' and also noted that the chef gifted them some wine.
This comes after chef Tom Kerridge also spoke highly of James on Red Richardson’s podcast.
He said: 'Everyone who does cooking on television has got their own different skill set for different reasons. Like James Martin is so good live and he’s brilliant at that, holding a conversation, listening and cooking. He’s a really good cook as well.'
James Martin's Saturday Morning airs weekly from 9.30am on ITV and ITVX.
