In leaked audio, James Martin is heard breaking into an expletive-laden diatribe against his colleagues after claiming the outburst was caused by personal issues.
The chef, 51, who has apologised for causing ‘offence or upset’ after being accused of bullying on his shows, disclosed in 2018 while shooting Saturday Morning that he was diagnosed with face cancer.
Martin admitted that ‘lessons had been learnt’ after reacting ’emotionally’ to a drain in his home getting plugged during the production of the ITV programme owing to a slew of personal concerns, including the diagnosis.
The moment he reprimanded workers for the event has now been ‘leaked,’ with the presenter cursing 42 times in a ten-minute diatribe.
In the audio, obtained by The Sun, Martin scolded his team, telling them they should be ‘f***ing fried’ and punishing them by ordering they take their lunch breaks in the ‘f***ing rain.’
‘Show me and show my house more f**king respect – if not, you’re gone,’ he is heard saying after the drain damage.
He continued: ‘Senior members of our staff will get f**king fired because I‘m sick of it. I’m sick of being treated like a f**king piece of sh*t.’
On Thursday, Martin addressed the recording and said on his social media he felt compelled to make a statement about the incident after ‘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.’
In a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter, he said: ‘I would like to publicly and sincerely apologise to the crew involved in this incident, as I did at the time.’
He described the end of 2017 as ‘one of the most fraught and difficult periods of my life’ because he had been dealing with his grandfather’s death and a home burglary.
‘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,’ he added.
‘Since then it has returned on several occasions and I have to have regular treatments.’
The TV chef previously addressed the outburst in a joint statement with production company Blue Marlin, which explained that his home had been ‘badly damaged’ during filming.
It said Blue Marlin accepted responsibility but Martin was ‘shocked by what had happened and on reflection acknowledges he responded emotionally, which he wholly regrets.’
The statement continued: ‘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.’
They added that Martin and the production company were implementing ITV’s recommendations and best practice policies and remain ‘committed to ensuring the welfare of all those with whom they work is of the utmost priority.’
According to an ITV representative, the broadcaster contacted Blue Marlin after receiving a complaint in May from members of James Martin’s Spanish Adventure production crew.
They added that after discussing how the issues were being dealt with, ITV made recommendations to Blue Marlin including ‘sharing best practice of some of our own relevant procedures around staff welfare and reiterating our supplier code of conduct”.
The statement added: ‘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-green-light 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.’
