James Martin claims he was 'rejected for two BBC jobs because of his Northern accent'

The broadcaster deny the former Saturday Kitchen host's comments
Rejected: James Martin claims he was 'turned down for two jobs because of his accent'
BBC/Cactus TV
Natasha Sporn28 February 2018

James Martin has claimed that he was denied two presenting jobs on the BBC because of his accent.

The celebrity chef says that he was turned down for work because of his Yorkshire roots, a claim strongly refuted by the BBC.

Martin told the Daily Mail: “I didn't get two jobs from the BBC because of my accent.

“I can't say what jobs they were, but it was before I moved to ITV. It happened more than two years ago. I know because they told me [it was because of my accent].”

Yorkshire-born Martin presented Saturday Kitchen for 10 years before moving on from the show in 2016.

The 45-year-old told the newspaper: “That's not the reason I left. But you'd be wrong if you said they don't discriminate against people because of their accents.”

He now hosts a similar show on ITV, titled Saturday Morning with James Martin.

In a statement, a BBC spokesperson said: “The BBC has a huge variety of presenters with different accents and from different backgrounds.

“The fact that James presented Saturday Kitchen, Home Comforts, Kitchen Invaders, Stately Suppers, Operation Meet the Street, Operation Hospital Food, Ready Steady Cook, The Box, The Real Italian Job and appeared in numerous others shows for the BBC shows that we have no problem with his accent."

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