Revealed: TV Chef James Martin Rapped By ITV After Being Accused By His Crew Of Bullying & Intimidating Behavior

Max Goldbart
·7 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: Brit TV chef James Martin is at the center of a bullying storm after he was accused of intimidating his crew on multiple occasions.

Deadline can reveal that ITV has told Martin to change his behavior after the UK’s biggest commercial broadcaster received a complaint in May about his conduct from some of the presenter’s closest colleagues.

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Concerns were raised about Martin’s treatment of crew during recent filming on James Martin’s Spanish Adventure, the latest in a long line of travel cooking shows the chef has fronted for ITV over his six-year spell with the broadcaster.

Deadline understands that the complaint is the second time ITV has been made aware of misgivings about Martin’s conduct following a separate incident in 2018 when he launched a foul-mouthed tirade against staff after a drain was blocked at his home during the production of James Martin’s Saturday Morning. Regarding the 2018 incident, a production source said ITV was made aware through informal channels, but the broadcaster does not have a record of the incident.

The complaints against Martin raise fresh questions for ITV about its handling of misconduct allegations against its top stars. The broadcaster faced intense scrutiny over the Phillip Schofield scandal after the presenter admitted to having a sexual relationship with a young runner on This Morning.

A senior ITV figure spoke to the chef in the week that CEO Carolyn McCall was grilled about Schofield’s conduct by a committee of British lawmakers. The broadcaster made clear during the Parliament hearing that it has a “zero tolerance” approach to bullying and harassment.

Addressing the complaints against Martin, ITV told Deadline that the welfare of people working on its shows was its “highest priority” and that the chef’s production company, Blue Marlin Television, had been told to update its processes to reflect “best practice.”

ITV declined to say whether Martin had broken its Supplier Code of Conduct, which stipulates that shoots should be free from “harassment and abuse” and that people should be treated with “courtesy, dignity and respect.”

Blue Marlin admitted that Martin had “responded emotionally” to the incident in 2018 and the chef apologized for his behavior. The company added that “lessons have been learned” following the more recent complaint about events on James Martin’s Spanish Adventure. Martin did not deny allegations of bullying.

Chef Accused Of Reducing Crew To Tears

On TV, Martin cuts a jovial figure. He has been on British screens for almost three decades, including a 10-year stint on the BBC’s Saturday Kitchen before moving to ITV in 2017, where he has since helmed a similar weekly show, James Martin’s Saturday Morning, in which he cooks and entertains guests. His Adventure strand has seen him journey to the likes of Spain, France, and the U.S., where he tours while cooking and meeting people. His current shows are produced by Winchester-based Blue Marlin, which he runs with his agent Fiona Lindsay.

During filming on Spanish Adventure earlier this year, Martin was accused of berating people, reducing them to tears in front of other colleagues, and changing schedules at the last minute, giving his team just a few hours of sleep before the following morning’s shoot. He is subsequently understood to have arrived an hour late for the filming commitment.

“What’s remarkable is I saw this behavior on every project I did with him and it feels conscious,” said a producer who has worked with Martin several times in the past. “I think he just feels like it’s OK to behave like that.”

ITV was contacted towards the end of May by some of the Spanish Adventure team members, who were unhappy with Martin’s behavior and Blue Marlin’s initial response to the concerns. The complaint was escalated to Head of Entertainment Katie Rawcliffe, who then approached Martin and Lindsay via email.

Rawcliffe asked for an independent investigation and report, along with evidence of processes and policies by which team members can make complaints. ITV also posited solutions to Blue Marlin, including providing training, a confidential complaints route, and clear policies in relation to personal conduct.

Deadline has spoken to individuals who previously worked with Martin who say his behavior on Spanish Adventure represents a pattern. In 2018, a formal complaint was made to the presenter and Lindsay by staff members over “repeated incidents of inappropriate, intimidating and bullying behavior” on James Martin’s Saturday Morning.

Multiple sources who worked on the show told us it was beset with similar problems to Spanish Adventure and the situation came to a head during a conference call, in which Martin berated some of those working on the show about a blocked drain at his house.

The crew sought advice from Bectu and drafted a formal letter to Martin and Lindsay. The letter, seen by Deadline, raises specific questions about Martin’s conduct, pointing to an “us and them” attitude at the production outfit. The letter also raised concerns about grievance processes and sickness arrangements, including sick pay.

“We just don’t feel that there has been a full and proper response from you to the issues that we raised,” the missive added. “Therefore we are writing formally to request a meeting to discuss specific actions that can be taken in order to address our concerns.”

It is understood that little came of requests for a meeting with Martin and Lindsay, and many of the people who penned the letter moved on to work for other companies. Blue Marlin said it has made more than 500 shows at Martin’s home since the incident.

“When you’re in the thick of it these things feel normalized but I just think to myself if I was there now I wouldn’t stand for it,” a source working for Blue Marlin in 2018 told us. “James and Fiona made us feel like they were the lords of the manor and we were the servants.

Martin “Responded Emotionally”

In a statement, Blue Marlin said: “An unfortunate incident occurred after filming James Martin’s Saturday Morning in 2018 where James’ home was badly damaged. Blue Marlin accepted responsibility. James was shocked by what had happened and on reflection acknowledges he responded emotionally, which he wholly regrets. James apologizes for any offence or upset caused, as he did at the time to the crew involved.

“Following this and some issues filming James Martin’s Spanish Adventure, James and Blue Marlin Television agree that lessons have been learned which have been discussed with members of the team and with ITV. Blue Marlin Television and James Martin have taken on board ITV’s recommendations and their sharing of best practice, and are in the process of fully implementing.

“Since the 2018 incident, Blue Marlin Television has continued to film over 500 shows at James’ home. Blue Marlin Television remains committed to ensuring the welfare of all those with whom they work is of the utmost priority.”

An ITV spokeswoman said: “At ITV people and their welfare are our highest priority. The production companies who make shows for us have primary responsibility for the duty of care of everyone they work with, both on and off screen. We make clear our expectations in this regard as part of our pre-greenlight duty of care processes. This includes having appropriate independent controls in place to enable everyone who works on their shows to confidently and confidentially raise concerns.

“Following a complaint we received in May from members of the Blue Marlin production team about the filming of James Martin’s Spanish Adventure, we contacted Blue Marlin to discuss these concerns and to understand how the issues raised were being addressed and what actions were being taken.

“As a result, we made a number of recommendations for Blue Marlin to implement as soon as possible, sharing best practice of some of our own relevant procedures around staff welfare and reiterating our Supplier Code of Conduct.”

The news comes with bullying in the UK TV industry firmly in the spotlight. Earlier this week, a long-called-for independent reporting body for bullying and harassment complaints launched its website, and TV industry employees will soon be able to report incidents to the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority. The body emerged from the Time’s Up UK movement and is backed financially by all broadcasters, including ITV.

Meanwhile, a number of British TV personalities including Schofield, the BBC’s Huw Edwards and GB News’ Dan Wootton have been in the news for the wrong reasons in recent weeks, raising questions more generally about the behavior of presenters behind closed doors.

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