TV chef James Martin was ‘burgled by team of masked men’ just before being diagnosed with cancer

Celebrity chef James Martin has revealed his house was burgled by ‘masked men’ shortly before being diagnosed with cancer.

The 51-year-old TV chef has shared that he underwent surgery for cancer on his face in 2018, but that it returned on ‘several occasions’ meaning he has to have ‘regular treatment’.

In a series of posts on Twitter - or X as it’s now known - James opened up about ‘one of the most fraught and difficult periods’ of his life, as his grandfather passed away and just days later his home was broken into while his partner was there alone.

“The end of 2017 was one of the most fraught and difficult periods of my life,” he wrote.

“I was dealing with the death of my last living grandparent, my grandfather, and on account of work commitments I could not attend his funeral.

“Later that month I was burgled at night by a team of masked men, who entered my house while my partner Louise was at home alone and I was away working. I was devastated that she had to go through that alone.

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“On top of this I was then diagnosed with cancer on my face and I had to have surgery, which I couldn't do until two days before Christmas when we had finished filming. Since then it has returned on several occasions and I have to have regular treatments.”

He shared the posts following allegations of ‘bullying’ and ‘intimidating’ behaviour on the set of one of his food travel shows, James Martin’s Spanish Adventure.

The leaked audio appeared to reveal him having a 'foul-mouthed' rant against staff because of a ‘blocked drain at his home’.

He began his stream of posts, by apologising to those involved and said he felt the need to make a statement to explain his behaviour.

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“Firstly, I would like to publicly and sincerely apologise to the crew involved in this incident, as I did at the time,” he said.

“I have always strived to keep my private life private. However, since details of a conversation, which was secretly recorded in January 2018, are now five years later being made public by a former member of our production team, I have decided to make a statement.”

In later posts, James admitted to being in a ‘very emotional state’ during the filming in 2018.

“After all this stress I was in a very emotional state, and when after filming in early January 2018 I discovered my home had been flooded while filming, I was extremely upset. I can only say I am human and following a build-up of personal life pressure, I admit that I overreacted regarding the damage to my home.”

For advice, support and information regarding cancer, visit Macmillan Cancer Support's website here or call 0808 808 00 00.