TV chef James Martin admits to sleeping in camper van amid fears of career ending

Celebrity chef James Martin has admitted that he sometimes slept in a camper van due to fears his career might suddenly come to an end. During a 2021 episode of the Grilling podcast with Simon Rimmer, Martin candidly discussed his time working on BBC Good Food Shows and one of his earliest meetings with Rimmer at the NEC.

He described it as an extraordinary period, despite staying at what he labelled as the worst hotel in the world. However, Simon fondly remembered James' unmatched professionalism and regular early morning commutes from his camper van during those times, as reported by the Mirror. To get the latest What's On newsletters from WalesOnline, click here.

Simon delved deeper into Martin's relentless work ethic, stating: "You've never lost that. You were always known as being the guy that would like... you'd roll up in your camper van, you'd sleep in your camper van at times, and you'd do the show, and you've never stopped working. Still now, you still don't. Is that because of a love for it, or is it also... are you slightly insecure that you worry about it ending?"

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James replied: "Several things... I worry about it ending for sure, not that I'm bothered about it now as much as I was. But I still care more than I did before, if that makes sense? Because when I do This Morning, none of the home economists can understand why I'm in there at five o'clock in the morning. They don't understand."

He commented that he would be on time, ready "for them to open up" so he could get started on "every single dish" for former This Morning stars Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield. Earlier, Simon had pointed out that James was in a position where he could have taken things easy, "kicked back a little bit" if he had "wanted to", and might have let fame change him, becoming "become a little bit arrogant" and not putting as much effort into his cooking segments.

Yet, James, known for his time on BBC's Saturday Kitchen, demonstrated a "work ethos" that truly embodied the phrase, "You don't get owt for nowt", according to Simon. James also looked back fondly at his time at the NEC, where he would party until early morning, then rush back to his hotel for a quick shower, slip into his chef whites, and go straight to work.

Elsewhere in the podcast, James shared a humorous tale of how he accidentally set fire to the side of his house due to a mishap with a barbecue and an Italian pizza oven roof that should have been metal but was mistakenly made of wood. He also recounted a story about his father, who managed to blow up a barbecue, sending chops flying "20-30 feet in the air". Despite this, showcasing their shared passion for food, James and his dad quickly retrieved the scattered chops from the ground.

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