Matt Tebbutt says there’s no rivalry between him and James Martin (Image: BBC)
has shed light on the rumoured tension between him and his fellow culinary stars and Marcus Wareing.
The Saturday Kitchen host said that what some may perceive as a feud is merely chefs engaging in playful banter on TV and claimed the food industry is “too small” for genuine rivalry.
Matt and James have been dubbed ‘rivals’ multiple times since the former took over James’ slot on Saturday Kitchen in 2017, when he moved to ITV.
Despite the times of their shows clashing, Matt insists “everything flows quite nicely”.
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Fans questioned if Matt Tebbutt and Marcus Wareing hated each other during a recent Saturday Kitchen episode (Image: BBC)
Asked if there was any rivalry, he said: “Not really no, we do sort of similar shows on different channels.
“I know James very well, we’ve done food festivals and stuff like that.
“He’s got his audience and I’ve got mine, sometimes they cross over but it all seems to flow quite nicely.”
Regarding the chef community, the 51-year-old went on to say there are “very few people” who are actual rivals.
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Last September, viewers speculated about animosity between Matt and Marcus Wareing, due to their multiple on-air jibes at each other during the show.
After many questioned if they hated each other, Matt said the comments were all in good humour.
“People make comments about each other, it’s sort of just gentle ribbing I guess, but no, on the whole everyone gets on well,” he added.
“I always make some comment about [Marcus’] smallholding, which is hardly a smallholding, he has a beautiful place in the countryside.
“But, yeah there was a bit of back and forth about that, but yeah I suppose it’s what chefs are like in kitchens, and that’s what sort of gets you through long days, just that banter as they call it.”
Matt’s latest comments come after he shared why he chose not to seek advice from James when he took over his role.
In 2019, he admitted finding the transition “terrifying”, but chose to approach the show with a sense of naivety.
“I didn’t speak to him,” he confessed. “I think it’s sometimes better off to go naively into these things.
“That’s often a good thing if you go into things and you don’t really know what is going to happen, you just handle it as it goes.
“If you know all the facts, I think you might be a little bit daunted.”
James Martin’s Saturday Morning airs today at 9.30am on ITV and ITVX, while Saturday Kitchen airs at 10am on One.