Celebrity chef James Martin has revealed he was worried he had ‘killed’ a guest on his weekend Saturday show.
James Martin’s Saturday Morning show has been a fixture on ITV since 2017.
To date, nobody has come into any serious trouble after eating his food – but he said he ‘panicked’ during one of the episodes, thinking his guest might have choked on his cooking.
He has admitted he was stressing about what to do, as their face went white.
Martin, 53, spoke on the LNER podcast, Routes, about the incident which involved the host Jenni Falconer, 49.
She went on the show in 2024, and he cooked her a chicken parmigiana.
As Martin was making food for Falconer they talked about her career journey and early ambitions, as well as her love of running.
Once the dish was ready, she went to tuck into the a piece of the chicken, but Falconer recalled on the podcast that ‘it was too big for [her] mouth’.
Martin reminded her that she cut have cut it into a smaller piece.
The presenter went on: ‘I was like, ok, I’ve got to just eat this now – it’s too big, but I’ll be fine.
‘And then I choked.’
Martin recalled how her face went white and he thought: ‘What do I do? What do I do?’
He thought about doing the Heimlich maneuver, but he was ‘panicking’, and wasn’t sure if she was joking.
‘It wasn’t a joke at all, it was awful’, said Falconer, before adding: ‘But it was delicious.’
Martin laughed: ‘I thought the first and only guest I’ve killed on the show is going to be you.’
Falconer was ‘mortified’ after the whole ordeal.
The pair were in good spirits as they recalled the moment which could have ended badly.
On the podcast they discussed Martin’s route into cooking: ‘I was washing pots when I was eight.
‘I was in the kitchen when I was 10.’
But his journey wasn’t without its challenges.
He talked about failing his exams, including cookery, and learning to navigate his dyslexia.
James Martin’s Saturday Kitchen returns next Saturday on ITV at 9.30am. Routes podcast is available to listen on Spotify and Apple.
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