The TV chef, 45, who took over hosting duties on the long-running Saturday cooking programme after James Martin, 46, left following a decade at the helm, exclusively told Express.co.uk the former BBC star would not be coming back as a guest chef. “I think probably, in terms of viewership, that might be odd,” he explained. “Once you’ve done that [leaving], as is the way of TV, it’s kind a one-way street. Once you leave something, it’s not often you’ll see people returning.
“To be honest, he’s probably not worried about getting up at that time on a Saturday morning any more,” Matt added lightheartedly. “He’s done 10 years of it.
“It’s quite brutal when the alarm goes off but then the adrenaline kicks in and it takes over,” he said. “It’s great. But I suspect he’s probably quite happy with Saturday mornings off.”
On the subject of thing over from fan favourite James, who has since launched is own show, James Martin’s Saturday Morning, which airs at the same time at the weekend, Matt admitted: “It was pretty terrifying actually, because he had a huge following.
“He’d been doing it for 10 years, so big old shoes to fill, literally and figuratively.
“It was quite nerve-wracking but you can’t turn it down,” he continued. “It’s a great job and it’s enormous fun, so you can’t really be scared or put off by things like that.
“You are who you are, there’s no point in trying to be someone else. Fortunately,
