James Martin has revealed the surprising story behind how he came to own his adorable dog, Ralph, who sometimes appears on his weekly cooking show, James Martin's Saturday Morning. The TV chef told the Daily Star that the fluffy pooch was a bit of an accidental purchase, saying, "I have two dogs – a working cocker spaniel called Cooper, and a little Lhasa Apso called Ralph that I bought p***ed from the pet store at Harrods one lunchtime!"
James with his dogs on ITV's Britain's Top 100 Dogs Live
He explained: "It was a boozy working lunch, the day before Saturday Kitchen, and I had been celebrating. I ended up on the top floor of Harrods thinking I was going to buy a new pair of shoes, but I ended up in the wrong department and saw these two little dogs. One of them was really looking at me and I thought, ‘He’s pretty cool’, so I bought him."
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James dotes on his dogs, and often shares sweet photographs of them on his social media accounts. To mark Christmas Day 2018, he shared an adorable shot of Ralph posing in a Santa hat, writing: "Happy Christmas all. Have a great day and big love out there to everyone."
While the food expert was back on our screens on Saturday, he has also been entertaining viewers with latest show James Martin's Great British Adventure, which he recently revealed has scored great ratings with viewers. He tweeted on Friday: "Thanks for all your messages over the weeks… glad you liked it and it is coming back prime time in the summer also… off for a meeting to see where and if we are allowed to go next… thanks, the team are chuffed, mega ratings…thanks, thanks!"
James did have to defend some criticism of the show, however, admitting he made a "genuine mistake" when presenting a segment about Wales. He wrote in February: "I have been made aware of a problem with the map and voiceover script to an 18-second clip on yesterday's show. It was a genuine mistake and one that will be rectified. I apologise for this error and for any offence caused, but some of the abuse online aimed at me is vastly uncalled for given my love for Wales and the whole of the UK and all it has to offer."
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