ITV chef James Martin takes extreme measure to protect himself after incident

ITV chef James Martinappears to be so scared of crimeof London he now takes a protection dog with him on trips to the capital. It comes after yobs smashed the rear windscreen of his car in broad daylight earlier this year, and he says other friends have been targeted there.

The Saturday Morningstar posted a pic of him with one of his dogs, a Belgian Malinois, in a “working dog” harnass. He posted alongside the pic: “London.”

Earlier this year the 52-year-old pledged to go to London next time with one of his dogs. He said as well as his car being targeted he revealed “two of my friends’ cars got stolen, one other mate got mugged and nowI had this happen - all in broad daylight, all in central London,”

He added: “London is broken big time... next time I’m bringing the Malis,’, which refers to his two Belgian Malinois dogs. As well as his cookery show, he has presented James Martin’s Great British Adventure, Islands to Highlands and James Martin’s French Adventure. He has also published over 20 best-selling cook books.

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However, he endured a bout with facial cancer in 2018. In November 2023, he announced he was taking a “little break from work” for several months of further treatment.

Speaking to audiences while on tour, he said: “For me personally, I’ve been through a lot of s**t with cancer but I’m getting sorted at the end of next month. I will be back fighting at the end of February but I’m going on a little bit of a break to get that sorted.

“I just wanted to say thank you for all your support and all your messages.” Recently, fans of the chef have been left disappointed after he announced he will no longer appear at the Yorkshire Dales Food & Drink Festival just days before the event. James wrote: "I’m so sorry but unfortunately, due to circumstances outside of my control, I will no longer be appearing at the Yorkshire Dales Food & Drink Festival."

James had been one of the headline names expected at the festival, which is set to take place from July 18 to 20 at Aireville Park in Skipton. The popular event was launched in 2016 but didn’t run last year, so attendees have been looking forward to this summer’s comeback featuring music acts such as The Feeling and Go West.