James Martin claims BBC discriminated against him because of his accent

The BBC responded by pointing out the multitude of presenting jobs they offered Martin

(BBC)

Yorkshire-born presenter James Martin has claims he was discriminated against at the BBC because of his accent.

The celebrity chef hosted the BBC show Saturday Kitchen for 10 years, between 2006 and 2016, as well as presenting The Great British Budget Menu, James Martin's Food Map of Britain, and Junior Bake Off. Martin also guest presented The One Show.

"I didn't get two jobs from the BBC because of my accent," Martin told the Daily Mail. "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].”

"That's not the reason I left,” he added. “But you'd be wrong if you said they don't discriminate against people because of their accents.”

The BBC has responded to the claims by pointing out how many shows Martin presented for them, adding that they employ many people with different accents.

"The BBC has a huge variety of presenters with different accents and from different backgrounds," their statement reads.

"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.”

Martin was once thought of as a frontrunner to present the rebooted Top Gear series, a role that was eventually filled by the Lancashire-born Chris Evans and former Friends actor Matt LeBlanc.

Recently, BBC Breakfast presenter Steph McGovern, who has a distinctive regional accent, accused the corporation of class bias. “Throughout my career I’ve had to argue about [pay],” she said. “It’s not as simple as a gender issue, it’s partly down to class.”

The BBC responded by saying: “More than 80 per cent of the BBC’s workforce was educated in state schools and the BBC is more diverse than it has ever been. The BBC has a clear commitment to finding and developing new talent.”