James Martin has been having a rough time as of late, after revealing that his cancer, that he first secretly battled back in 2018, has returned and he faced allegations about his behaviour towards crew members.
However, the former Saturday Kitchen took to social media to share some uplifting news as his upcoming show, An Evening with James Martin, has entirely sold out. The event, which takes place on 23 August, will be celebrating the tenth anniversary of his restaurant in Manchester and the guests will get to enjoy an exclusive Q+A session with the chef as well as sample a delicious five-course meal.
The tickets only went on sale on Thursday, but they ended up selling out in hours, something James was incredibly surprised about. Sharing his response, James commented: "Wow, thank you all! Fastest selling evening we have ever done to celebrate a great team reaching a 10-year milestone. Gonna be a great night."
Fans were quick to support him, as one penned; "Just shows how much people love you James. Visited your Manchester restaurant a few weeks ago, loved it…didn't see you though. Looking forward to your new show in September," and a second enthused: "Never in doubt James, you really do put bums on seats in everything you do! They're always amazing nights."
A third added: "You'll all have a super time peeps, James was on form and the food and staff were both excellent when we went!…. Highly recommend the evening," and a fourth said: "I'm not surprised you've sold out I love watching you, best chef."
Bullying allegations around James first emerged last month following the filming of his show, Spanish Adventures, where the 51-year-old was accused of "intimidating behaviour".
Deadline reported that ITV received a complaint in May about his conduct towards production staff and crew on set. It came five years after an initial complaint was made regarding an incident that occurred on set of his Saturday Morning series in 2018.
In a statement, James addressed the crew and wrote: "Firstly, I would like to apologise publicly and sincerely to the crew involved in this incident, as I did at the time." "I have always strived to keep my private life private," he continued. "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."
The former Ready Steady Cook favourite revealed that the end of 2017 was "one of the most fraught and difficult periods of my life," where he dealt with the death of his grandfather and a burglary at his home, with whom he shares with his long-term partner Louise Davies."
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," he added. "I was devastated that she had to go through that alone." Sharing his cancer diagnosis, James continued: "On top of this 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."
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