Matt Tebbutt glaring at the camera on Saturday Kitchen / James Martin on Saturday Morning
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James Martin’s BBC replacement Matt Tebbutt in savage ‘dig’ at beloved Saturday Morning host

James left the BBC eight years ago

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Saturday Morning host James Martin – who is hosting a repeat this weekend (July 6) after breaking up for the summer – was on the receiving end of a brutal dig by Matt Tebbutt recently.

Matt replaced James as the host of Saturday Kitchen on BBC One back in 2016 – and took a cheeky swipe at his former colleague recently…

James Martin on Saturday Morning
James has hosted Saturday Morning since 2017 (Credit: ITV)

Saturday Morning host James Martin quits Saturday Kitchen

Back in 2016, James decided to quit his role hosting Saturday Kitchen on BBC One. He had presented the show for 10 years.

He said at the time: “I would like to thank the BBC and Saturday Kitchen for the great opportunity they gave me. It has been an amazing journey and I have been privileged to work with some of the world’s greatest chefs and some of the greatest names in showbiz.

“I wish the new chefs every success. I am looking forward to getting stuck into my new projects and to lots of lie-ins on a Saturday morning.”

However, just over a year after leaving, James made the switch to ITV to launch James Martin’s Saturday Morning, a show with a very similar format, which he has hosted ever since.

Matt Tebbutt glaring at the camera on Saturday Kitchen
TV chef Matt replaced James on Saturday Kitchen (Credit: BBC)

Matt Tebbutt in brutal dig at Saturday Morning host James Martin

Matt Tebbutt replaced James as host of Saturday Kitchen – and took a cheeky swipe at him during a podcast appearance.

The 50-year-old TV host was a guest on the Spooning with Mark Wogan podcast back in December 2023.

Wogan branded Matt the “thinking person’s James Martin”, before asking about the duo’s “rivalry”.

“There’s a mild rivalry with weekend chefs? What is that about?” he asked.

“Viewing figures! Can we stay on air? Can we pay our mortgage?” Matt replied.

James Martin on Loose Women
James left the BBC for ITV eight years ago (Credit: ITV)

Matt’s cheeky swipe

Wogan then continued, saying: “There’s your good self, there’s James, who used to be where you are.”

Matt quickly fired back with his jibe: “[James is] doing exactly the same thing on ITV. After wanting to leave…”

However, any hopes of a proper rivalry between the pair were soon dashed, with Matt conceding that it is a “friendly rivalry” between the presenters.

However, he did admit that both stars want the largest share of viewers on a Saturday morning…

Read more: Jane McDonald’s ‘terrible’ first encounter with James Martin: ‘He greeted her and she just swanned past him’

James Martin’s Saturday Morning airs Saturdays at 9.30am on ITV1 and ITVX.

Saturday Kitchen airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 10am the same day.

James Martin's Saturday Morning - Series 7: Episode 23 - Saturday 8th June 2024

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Robert Emlyn Slater
Senior Writer