James Martin opens up on huge career move before 'retirement' during break from show

James Martin has shared that he wants to own and run his own farm before his career comes to an end for good. Famed for his cooking skills and television show Saturday Morning, the 51-year-old shared that following in the likes of Jeremy Clarkson and Kelvin Fletcher's farming footsteps was on his radar and his friends had been on at him to make it happen.

In a previous episode of his show aired on Saturday, the chef caught up with Kelvin and his wife Liz's journey from being actors to farmers as seen on their show Fletchers' Family Farm. A little more enthusiastic than usual, James shared with viewers: "This is why I am excited, because I am determined, before I retire, to push the button like you've done.

"My mates keep sending me pictures of islands in Scotland and farms in Scotland going, 'You do it, do it, do it'." James said he had also taken an interest in watching Jeremy put a new stamp on the farming world with his Amazon series Clarkson's Farm.

Over three series, the presenter turned farmer has been giving fans an insight into life on his Diddly Squat Farm with the help of his show's team including Kaleb Cooper. No stranger to working on a farm, James was brought up on a pig farm in the middle of Yorkshire Moors where he helped his mother with various duties.

The presenter said working in such an environment had taught him that you have to "graft for everything, be grounded, honest and to respect others". He added to The Guardian: "It’s probably the reason I’m still here, doing what I’m doing 20 years down the line. Afterwards, we’d come in through the utility room with the dogs, hang up our coats, put on our slippers and go and eat."

James began grafting for his now successful career from a young age, sometimes working up to 19 hours a day.

Last year, he told how the blood sweat and tears he put into a particular job had once left his mother in tears.

After revealing that his "greatest achievement" to date was buying his mum a house, he added on the Travel Diaries podcast: "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."

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.

Earlier this week during a break from the show, James took to Instagram with an image of the Saturday Morning logo alongside his 2024 TV Choice Award as he shared an update with fans.

He shared: "Thank you all for tuning in as we air the last show of this series before the summer break!

"We look forward to August and returning with more amazing guests and chefs for you! Thank you."

Repeats of the show will continue to air on Saturdays at 9:30am on ITV and ITVX up until August.