James Martin's new series 'given go-ahead by ITV bosses' despite bullying claims

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James launched into an expletive-filled rant on the set of his shows - which left his crew in tears
James launched into an expletive-filled rant on the set of his shows - which left his crew in tears

James Martin's new TV series has reportedly been given the green light by ITV bosses despite the British chef facing an onslaught of bullying allegations.

The broadcaster will apparently go ahead with its plan to air the Saturday Kitchen star's new show - James Martin's Spanish Adventure - this Autumn. It comes after reports that senior ITV bosses had originally made the decision to axe Martin's show. However, a number of celebrities, former colleagues and fans of the star have since leapt to his defence, pointing out his secret acts of kindness over the years and brushing off the allegations by pointing out that "chefs are always temperamental".

The TV chef has had a tumultuous few weeks that have seen him accused of 'bullying and intimidating behaviour' by crew members. The incident came to light after a leaked recording revealed that the 51-year-old TV presenter swore 42 times during an intense directed towards his production crew.

Martin was "accused of berating people" and "reducing them to tears in front of other colleagues" while filming the Spanish Adventure programme in May. Amid the allegations and audio leaks being made public, James has since apologised for his actions while revealing his cancer diagnosis. Martin and his production company Blue Marlin also released a joint statement to said they "agree lessons have been learned."

James Martin's new series 'given go-ahead by ITV bosses' despite bullying claims qhiddziqqzirtinvJames Martin's new show is set to air later this year (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

He wrote: "Firstly, I would like to publicly and sincerely apologise to the crew involved in this incident, as I did at the time. I have always strived to keep my private life private.

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"However since details of a conversation, which was secretly recorded in January 2018, are now five years later being made public by a former member of our production team, I have decided to make a statement." He explained: "The end of 2017 was one of the most fraught and difficult periods of my life.

"I was dealing with the death of my last living grandparent, my grandfather, and on account of work commitments, I could not attend his funeral. Later that month I was burgled at night by a team of masked men, who entered my house while my partner Louise was at home alone and I was away working. I was devastated that she had to go through alone."

He went on to discuss his cancer diagnosis for the first time, telling fans: "I was then diagnosed with cancer on my face and I had to have surgery, which I couldn't do until two days before Christmas when we had finished filming. Since then it has returned on several occasions and I have to have regular treatments.

"After all this stress I was in a very emotional state, and when after filming in early January 2018 I discovered my home had been flooded while filming, I was extremely upset. I can only say I am human and following a build-up of personal life pressure, I admit that I overreacted regarding the damage to my home."

The Mirror has contacted James Martin's reps for comment.

Ayaan Ali

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