James Martin agrees 'lessons learned' amid staff accusations

TV chef James Martin has been accused of intimidating members of the production team on his ITV Spanish Adventure programme - his latest cooking show.

In a joint statement, Mr Martin and his production company that makes the programme, Blue Marlin, agreed lessons had been learned.

ITV said people and their welfare are their highest priority.

According to a report by US news outlet Deadline, he "berated" staff, "reduced them to tears" and regularly changed schedules last minute which gave the team fewer hours to sleep before the next day's shoot.

An ITV Spokesperson 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."

They added: “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."

In a joint statement, production company Blue Marlin and Martin have said they "agree lessons have been learned."

The production firm has made a number of programmes with Martin and have also taken responsibility for a separate incident in 2018 where his home and garden were damaged.

A Blue Marlin spokesperson said: "An unfortunate incident occurred after filming James Martin's Saturday Morning in 2018 where James' home was badly damaged.

"Blue Marlin Television accepted responsibility.

"James was shocked by what had happened and on reflection acknowledges he responded emotionally, which he wholly regrets.

"James apologises 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 Adventures, 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 withwhom they work is of the utmost priority."

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