Celebrity chef James Martin health update after gruelling six-year cancer battle

Celebrity chef James Martin has spoken of finally feeling 'fit' after a gruelling six-year battle with cancer which saw him plan his own funeral.

The Saturday Breakfast star first spoke of his facial skin cancer diagnosis in 2018 and has now revealed he suffered "debilitating pain", as well as several operations and treatments after the illness recurred.

Martin, 52, said his illness had lead to him missing his grandfather's funeral, and saw him confront his own mortality - even planning his own funeral. Now, he has told Candis magazine he finally feels like he is on the mend, saying "this is the first time in six years that I feel as fit as a fiddle".

Returning to his restaurant and pub roots, Martin has now taken the reins at the Lygon Arms in the Cotswolds, telling the Daily Record: "I've got this dream. I'd have my own place called Eight which would be open eight days a month serving an eight-course menu to 18 people."

Meanwhile, the chef has also revealed how he has trimmed down, using an unusual diet - fish and butter. "I've decided that I maybe need to stay clear away from these (picks up a Twix bar) and stuff like that and maybe eat fish, and it's worked," he told the Spooning with Mark Wogan podcast.

And his passion for motorsport also played a part, he said, as he got larger and it became difficult to climb out of low racing cars. "It comes down to the fact that I race cars, or I still try and race a few cars and I actually struggle to get out of them now," he explained. "Getting in them, you kind of fall in them, but then you've got to get out of them and it just doesn't look very good."

After training to become a chef at Hostellerie De Plaisance in Saint-Émilion, France, and working in the 3 Michelin Star restaurant, Maison Troisgros, in Roanne, Martin returned to the UK as a Pastry Chef at Chewton Glen Hotel in New Milton, Hampshire.

But it wasn't long before he made his television debut, appearing on James Martin: Yorkshire's Finest in 1996, as well as Ready Steady Cook and The Big Breakfast.

He is now well known presenter of the BBC shows Saturday Kitchen from 2006 until 2016, Operation Hospital Food, which ran for three series in 2011, 2013 and 2014, and in 2013, James Martin's Food Map of Britain.

Since September 2017, Martin has presented Saturday Morning with James Martin, a cookery show for ITV.