James Martin has slammed London for being an “unfriendly” and “broken” place after his car was broken into last year.
Vandals smashed through the rear windscreen of the 53-year-old TV chef’s car last year after it was left parked in central London, but he didn’t specify what, or if anything, was stolen from the boot.
The Saturday Morning presenter shared a photo of the damage to his Instagram, showing a shattered rear windscreen, claiming “London is broken big time.”
The ITV star was so shaken that he bought his dog “for protection” the next time he visited the capital.
Now, he has opened up about the sense of danger in London compared to Yorkshire, where he was raised on a farm within the private Castle Howard estate.
He joked that if you speak to a stranger in London, they automatically presume you’re going to “mug” them due to the concerning rise in theft.
“It’s the people that make the place,” he told Food and Travel Magazine about his love for his hometown.
“They’re very honest and much friendlier. In London, if you speak to people, they think you’re going to mug them.”
In response to Martin’s smashed-up car on Instagram, one fan penned: “That’s flaming awful. I’m sorry those things happened -good idea taking your dog.”
Another doubled down on the incident: “I’m a cockney, James, and I hate what’s happened to my city. I only go into London if I have to.
“Can’t even get your phone out to answer it for fear of it getting snatched, can’t use a nice bag, can’t wear a nice watch. It’s no longer safe for women.
“London has become lawless, as has most of the UK because the government is too soft on crime.”
According to the most recent ONS data, the year ending December 2024 saw 966,751 offences committed across Central and Greater London, with over half a million reports of theft and robbery.
During Mayor Sadiq Khan’s tenure, violent crime has risen by over 30 percent, and pickpocketing and phone snatching have gone up 38 percent against figures from 2023.
The Centre for Social Justice says almost half of women living in London have been either attacked or threatened with violence in the past five years.
Ex-Home Secretary Suella Braverman previously penned that the mayor has “failed to address” the shocking rise in violent crime.
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The shocking incident came as the daytime TV chef revealed plans to sell several of his prized race cars, admitting he “struggles to get out of them” as he’s getting older.
Speaking on the Good Food podcast, he said: “The car collection sort of changes as you get older. I can’t get in the cars that I bought 20 years ago, and I can’t get out of them.
“So I’ve sold quite a few of the race cars, and I’ve gone into sort of old school cars. So stuff that I can get into and get out of.”
“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.”
James is best known for his hit ITV series James Martin’s Saturday Morning and has a collection of previous shows, including Saturday Kitchen, Home Comforts, Islands to Highlands, and James Martin’s French Adventure.
He has also authored over 20 best-selling cookbooks.