Emotional James Martin fights back tears as he celebrates 200 episodes of his cooking show

James Martin became emotional on his weekend cookery show on Saturday as he celebrated 200 episodes of the programme airing on ITV.

The celebrity chef, 49, fought back tears as his celebrity pals and past guests on the show congratulated him in a sweet video montage.

He has been hosting James Martin’s Saturday Morning since 2017 and the popular programme sees him recommending top recipes as he cooks from his home.

Tearful: James Martin became emotional on his weekend cookery show on Saturday as he celebrated 200 episodes of the programme airing on ITV

As he celebrated the show’s milestone achievement, James was seen wiping tears from his eyes as he became overwhelmed while watching the montage.

The video, which was aired during Saturday’s show, saw fellow chefs Paul Ainsworth, Atul Kochhar, José Pizarro and Dipna Anand, among others, send James their well wishes.

In one sweet tribute, Welsh chef Stephen Terry held up a board decorated with the number ‘200’ on it and sparklers blazing out the sides to celebrate the achievement.

While Brian Turner hilariously spoke in front of a huge portrait of himself, sweetly telling James: ‘Son, we’re very proud of ya. Keep it going.’

Emotional: The celebrity chef, 49, fought back tears as his celebrity pals – including Brian Turner – and past guests on the show congratulated him in a sweet video montage

In a separate clip, Italian chef Francesco Mazzei joked: ‘You’re pretty good at what you’re doing! I think you could improve a bit on the pasta but you’re great!’

And Lisa Goodwin-Allen stepped away from the stove to gush over how much she enjoys being involved with his cookery show, as she often joins James in the kitchen.

‘It’s a great Saturday show and I love being part of it. Thank you,’ she added.

Throughout the video montage, James could be seen reacting to the tributes and wiping tears out of his eyes as he became emotional listening to their kind words.

As the camera panned back to James in the studio, he thanked his friends for their congratulatory comments and raised a glass to them as he said it was ‘unbelievable’.

 Milestone: James returned to Saturday morning television with his two-hour show James Martin’s Saturday Morning in 2017

He then tried to lighten the mood, as he looked visibly emotional, quipping: ‘Only Brian Turner could have an oil painting of himself behind his head in his house.’

James returned to Saturday morning television with his two-hour show James Martin’s Saturday Morning in 2017.

It came a year after he quit Saturday Kitchen after a decade at the helm of the BBC cookery programme.

Last October, he released his cookbook Butter and revealed to the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine that he had originally wanted to call the book Fat.

‘Fat – that’s what I wanted to call it – and they said, ‘Mmm, maybe not…’ But the next one will be called Fat,’ he hilariously revealed at the time.

Chef: It came a year after James (pictured in March 2019) quit Saturday Kitchen after a decade at the helm of the BBC cookery programme

In the book, James shares some of his favourite new dishes and old classics – everything from savoury delights like roast crab with lime and chilli butter, Barnsley chops with goat’s cheese butter, to sweet treats including cinnamon bread with caramel butter dip, shortbread and baklava.

James admitted the response to his cookbook was ‘overwhelming’ and had to temporarily come off social media because he was inundated with messages. 

‘The response has been overwhelming,’ he said. ‘Chefs treat butter like olive oil, and for me it’s always been about the food – delicious food. You can’t produce good-quality food with margarine – it’s s***. Do we need to be lectured? Can we just enjoy it for what it is?

‘Butter is a natural ingredient. I’ve spent my entire career using butter without compromise and without substitute, mainly because there isn’t one. We shouldn’t take butter for granted. 

‘It’s such an essential part of our food lives right across the globe that it’s a wonder many more haven’t written books on it before. Butter is unique and natural, and we don’t have to kill an animal to produce it.’

James and his team wrote the book in 21 days during the Covid-19 lockdown and photographed the dishes on the floor of his Hampshire home.

Delicious: Last October, he released his cookbook Butter and revealed to the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine that he had originally wanted to call the book Fat