According to reports, James Martin was accused of harassing and threatening people while filming an ITV show.
According to reports, in May of this year, a complaint was made to the broadcaster by close colleagues, which resulted in ITV approaching the TV chef and advising him that he needed to improve his behaviour.
According to reports, while filming James Martin’s Spanish Adventure – a show that follows earlier installments in nations such as France and America – he raised concerns about how he handled members of his team.
According to Deadline, it’s understood that the complaint is the second time that ITV has been alerted to his behaviour.
When a drain in his house became blocked in 2018, while filming James Martin’s Saturday Morning, which has broadcast on ITV since 2017, Martin is alleged to have ‘launched a foul-mouthed tirade against staff’ according to the newspaper.
According to reports, a formal complaint was filed against Martin and his agent Fiona Lindsay in 2018 for ‘repeated incidents of inappropriate, intimidating and bullying behaviour’ on his show James Martin’s Saturday Morning.
It’s said that a senior ITV executive spoke to Martin the same week that ITV CEO Dame Carolyn McCall was grilled by MPs about former This Morning host Phillip Schofield, his departure from the network, and his admission that he lied about having an affair with a runner.
When asked about the allegations regarding Martin, ITV stated that the welfare of the individuals who work on their programmes was their “highest priority.”
Blue Marlin Television, the production company run by the chef, has reportedly also been told by ITV to update its processes to reflect ‘best practise’, the publication stated.
ITV is said to have declined to say whether Martin broke its Supplier Code of Conduct, which stipulates that its suppliers will ‘operate a working environment that is free from verbal, physical or online harassment and abuse’.
The code of conduct continues: ‘Everyone should be treated with courtesy, dignity and respect. Conduct that creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment will not be tolerated.’
In response to the most recent complaint filed against Martin, Blue Marlin Television is claimed to have declared that ‘lessons have been learnt,’ with the chef allegedly not contesting bullying charges.
Blue Marlin said: ‘An unfortunate incident occurred after filming James Martin’s Saturday Morning in 2018 where James’ home was badly damaged. Blue Marlin accepted responsibility. James was shocked by what had happened and on reflection acknowledges he responded emotionally, which he wholly regrets. James apologizes 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 Adventure, 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 with whom they work is of the utmost priority.’
It’s been said that when filming Spanish Adventure earlier this year, Martin was accused of causing individuals to cry in front of their coworkers and altering schedules at the last minute, all while arriving an hour late to a morning shoot.
A producer who has worked with the chef in the past told the publication: ‘What’s remarkable is I saw this behaviour on every project I did with him and it feels conscious. I think he just feels like it’s OK to behave like that.’
An ITV spokesperson also 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.
‘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.’
Source My Celebrity Life.