ALISON BOSHOFF: Chef James Martin, his new lover and the old flame in his kitchen

Keep your friends close, your enemies closer... and your ex-girlfriends the closest of all.

That seems to be the motto of TV chef James Martin, who parted from his girlfriend of 12 years, Louise Davies, almost exactly a year ago.

He's now dating glamorous society personal trainer Kim Johnson, who was once married to Liz Hurley's millionaire ex Arun Nayar. 

But Kim has had to make way — with good grace — for the continued presence in his life of Martin's ex, Louise.

For Louise remains James's 'Girl Friday' at work — more than an assistant, and more than a sounding board, but not credited as a TV producer on his ITV show, Saturday Morning With James Martin, whose recent guests have included comedian David Baddiel and singer Alfie Boe.

It's understood that Louise is there when the cameras roll and – perhaps awkwardly – the programme is recorded in a bespoke kitchen studio at his home in Hampshire, which the former couple used to share.

Friends of Kim say it's clear that James's friendship with Louise is 'non-negotiable' and she accepts that Louise remains important to him. 

'Everyone is being very grown-up,' says one.

A source close to James tells me: 'The relationship between James and Louise has evolved. 

'At one point, it looked as if it was going to be marriage and babies for them, but then that went off the table and I think gradually the relationship changed into a friendship.

'It didn't happen overnight, these things don't.

'She's such a good person and they really do get on still. He values having her in his life. She's a sounding board for him, and there during filming at his home.'

The friend adds: 'He's very loyal and a lot of his team have been there forever.' James's spokesman confirms that he and Louise remain good friends, but did not respond when asked if they are still working together.

In an interview with Prima magazine in 2020, Martin said: 'The biggest low of my career is that I've given up everything for it. 

'I look at my mates and they're all married with kids, and that's not the case for me because I've been so focused on work.

'The level of commitment it requires and the choices you have to make have a huge impact. But would I do the same thing again? Probably, because it's made me who I am. 

'And why does everybody have to follow the norm anyway?'

Prior to his relationship with Louise, James enjoyed a four-and-a-half year romance with James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli, 12 years his senior. 

They went their separate ways when James realised there was an 'imbalance' in their relationship. 

Barbara lavished the chef with gifts including a Picasso, and once offered to buy him a £180,000 Aston Martin, which he felt was too expensive.

Martin was a familiar face on BBC's Saturday Kitchen for a decade. He then made the switch to ITV in 2017, where he has since hosted his Saturday morning show, as well as various food travel shows. 

In July 2023, he said he'd been having treatment for facial cancer since 2018, but was now 'all clear'.

Torode to keep his place on MasterChef ...at least for now

Good news for MasterChef's John Torode. 

He will be returning as the host of the show – for now. Filming for Celebrity MasterChef is scheduled for January and I hear it is confirmed he will be at the helm.

The question of who will replace Gregg Wallace – who has 'stepped away' after allegations of inappropriate behaviour – is yet to be settled.

Sources say it's possible there will be a rotating cast of guest presenters to support Torode. Production company Banijay doesn't have long to make arrangements and is scrambling to see who would be a good fit.

This week, Torode has been shooting the final stages of amateur MasterChef, due to go out in spring 2025 on BBC1.

Chef Anna Haugh has stepped in for the last few days and will be with Torode when they announce who has won the series. 

Rumours that Wallace could be edited out of the forthcoming show are wide of the mark, with well-placed sources saying it would be quite impossible to remove him from the already filmed heats.

 Last night the BBC screened the final of MasterChef: The Professionals, which was made before the story about Wallace's behaviour broke. 

They did, though, axe two Celebrity Christmas editions. Long-term, the prospects may not look too good for Torode. 

Names, including Andi Oliver and Grace Dent, are in the frame to replace Wallace permanently, and I've been told it's possible Banijay will opt for a completely fresh start with two new presenters.

 My co-star became my in-law, thanks to The Devil

Actors sometimes talk about their co-stars becoming like family, but Emily Blunt's Devil Wears Prada co-star Stanley Tucci really is - he married her sister Felicity, a literary agent, after Emily set them up at her wedding in 2010.

At the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, this week Blunt reflected on her 'dream' brother-in-law, saying: 'Well, you know, Stanley Tucci is my brother-in-law. 

'He's now family – that's what the movie The Devil Wears Prada means to me.  He is a wonderful cook as well, and cooks fantastic Christmas dinners.'

She added: 'I just adore everything about him; and my little nephew and niece, and my other nephew and nieces from his first relationship, there's just been so much joy.

'I've done three movies with Meryl [Streep] now, but that was the starting point. And we are a family – like we know we made something special. We are bonded for life, whether we like it or not, for ever.'

The 2006 film, based on the memoir of a Vogue intern, was one of Blunt's first big film roles. She played the assistant to editor Miranda Priestly (Streep).

It was announced this summer that a sequel is in the works, with Streep returning as Priestly and Blunt's Emily – now an executive for a luxury consortium – her key adversary. 

Tucci has three children from his marriage to Kate Tucci, who died in 2009 after a battle with breast cancer. He and Felicity Blunt have two children.

Dylan? It ain’t me, babe

Timothee Chalamet has a lot of momentum behind his performance as Bob Dylan in the biopic A Complete Unknown, which scored three Golden Globes nominations even before its world premiere this week.

He's in the running for an Oscar and says that the actors' strike, which delayed the film, might just have helped him get into the role.

He said: 'The years I got to prepare for this role is unlike the time I've had for any other. 

'So at some point, it stopped becoming work and it just became a process of osmosis and just living in the material, living in the world of the Sixties.

'If you want to listen to the real music, you listen to the legend that is Bob Dylan — or the legend that is Joan Baez.

'The preparation was daunting, because it is Bob Dylan! And at the beginning I wasn't in the Church of Bob the way I am now.'

Keef, the Noel Coward of rock

Rolling Stone Keith Richards is like Noel Coward, according to Eric Idle.

Idle, part of the Monty Python gang, said that he spent a memorable night with the guitarist back in 1985, when they both happened to be in Rome.

'Keith is most extraordinary,' the comedian recalled. 'He's like Noel Coward in the way he behaves. 'Oh dear boy, do come up! What can I get you [to drink]?'

Idle added that, when they met, Richards was 'wearing a dressing gown and was very calm'. 'I was like: 'Where's the lunatic?'

'He was like: '"Dear boy, can I get you a glass of brandy?" It is quite a different world to what you expect.' And yet, not that different.

Idle, who has a jazz guitar background, recalled in a conversation on Sirius XM that he and Richards jammed and drank all night, and the following morning he was unable to remember his lines in the National Lampoon European Vacation film which he was shooting in the Eternal City.

The end of the gangster series McMafia is a rare setback in the glittering TV career of James Norton. 

The Happy Valley and Grantchester star says he'd love to do more shows – but has given up.

'Basically, the world shifted and the scripts became obsolete,' says James, who played Alex Godman (right), son of a Russian gangster, in the BBC1 series.

'It happened twice, with two different writers, after we had gone into development with both their scripts. 

'Because of events in Ukraine, Russia and the Middle East, we realised that the world was moving too fast to make a political thriller that wasn't going to look out-of-date by the time it reached the screen.

'I would have loved to have done more – and series do come back after a lengthy period of time. Just look at Happy Valley returning to BBC1 after seven years. 

'But the world would have to slow down significantly for there to be more McMafia, and it shows absolutely no sign of doing so.'

Wicked witches are on a roll 

Everything about the film adaptation of the hit stage show Wicked has turned out to be outsized – from the press tour and the commercial partnerships to the box-office success and now the awards heat.

The film is nominated for four Golden Globes, with nods for stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, and looks set to take the Oscars by storm, too.

Erivo reflected this week: 'I couldn't have even imagined what is happening right now with this film.'

The London-born actress said she knew the musical was 'really special'. 

'But to see it translate this way onto film is a real wonderful experience... because sometimes it doesn't necessarily work when you take something from stage to screen.'

She added that she and Grande had 'fallen in love' while making the film, which is in two parts, with the second half to follow next winter.

'To know that you've had a dream come true is very special. But to know that you've had a dream come true with people you care about, is even more special.' 

Erivo is up for best actress in a comedy or musical against Karla Sofia Gascon, the lead in Netflix's Emilia Perez.

If – as expected – both also score Oscar nominations, it will be the first time two actresses in a musical have come head to head since 1965, when Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins) bested Debbie Reynolds (The Unsinkable Molly Brown).

The 82nd annual Golden Globe Awards are on Sunday, January 5.

Likeable former Made In Chelsea personality Jamie Laing is the latest one out of the door at showbiz agency YMU. 

This year, clients including Claudia Winkleman, Angela Scanlon, Take That, Gabby Logan, Leigh Francis and Rob Rinder have exited.