ITV chef James Martin ‘at the centre of a bullying storm’ after he is accused of intimidating his crew on multiple occasions – in the latest scandal for the channel
TV chef James Martin has found himself at the center of a bullying storm after he was accused of intimidating his crew on more than one occasion.
According to Deadline, ITV has told James, 51, to change his behaviour after the channel received a complaint in May about his conduct from some of the presenter’s colleagues.
The publication reports that concerns were raised about James’s treatment of crew during filming on James Martin’s Spanish Adventure.
It’s thought that the complaint is the second time ITV has been made aware of misgivings about Martin’s conduct following a separate incident in 2018.
James is said to have launched a foul-mouthed tirade against staff after a drain was blocked at his home during the production of James Martin’s Saturday Morning.
Cooking up a storm: ITV chef James Martin is ‘at the centre of a bullying storm after being accused of intimidating his crew multiple occasions – in the latest scandal for the channel, (stock image)
An ITV Spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘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 continued: ‘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.’
ITV declined to say to Deadline whether James had broken its Supplier Code of Conduct, which stipulates that shoots should be free from ‘harassment and abuse’ and that people should be treated with ‘courtesy, dignity and respect.’
It’s the latest scandal to hit ITV after the broadcaster faced questions over the Phillip Schofield scandal.
The presenter admitted to having a sexual relationship with a much young runner on This Morning and lying about it.
It’s the latest scandal to hit ITV after the broadcaster faced questions over the Phillip Schofield scandal – Schofield (pictured during his BBC interview) was axed by ITV after admitting to an ‘unwise but not illegal’ affair with a younger male colleague
ITV boss Dame Carolyn McCall (middle), managing director of media and entertainment Kevin Lygo (left) and general counsel and company secretary Kyla Mullins (right) gave evidencein the House Of Commons last month
Last month, ITV boss Dame Carolyn McCall admitted she failed to launch a formal investigation into Schofield’s affair when rumours emerged within the network.
The chief executive was among three broadcast bosses grilled by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee in the wake of the presenter’s departure after admitting to an ‘unwise but not illegal’ affair with a younger male colleague.
Schofield’s lover, referred to during the hearing as ‘Person X’, denied the relationship with the former host of This Morning ’12 times’ when quizzed, but an official probe was never launched.
Dame Carolyn was told by SNP MP John Nicholson: ‘This morning you’ve talked about the way ITV talked to [Person X]. You’ve called it a review twice and an investigation once.’
She then interjected to clarify: ‘I’ve never called it an “investigation”. I might have said “investigated”.
‘We did investigate, but I wouldn’t call it an “investigation” because that gives it a kind of formality and structure that, because of the rumours and because of the time period, it didn’t have.’
In a statement the month before, once the affair was exposed, a spokesman said: ‘ITV can confirm that when rumours of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and an employee of ITV first began to circulate in early 2020 ITV investigated.
‘Both parties were questioned and both categorically and repeatedly denied the rumours as did Phillip’s then-agency YMU.’
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