James Martin reveals the unseen struggle he encounters on his ITV show due to hidden health battle

James Martin has opened up on the unseen struggle he copes with while filming his ITV cooking show due to a health battle.

The TV chef, 52, has been a familiar face on screens for over 30 years, famously fronting Saturday Kitchen before going on to host his current show, James Martin's Saturday Morning. 

But while the show is a big success, James recently told how viewers are unaware of the hidden challenges he faces while making the popular programme.

The star recently joined Lose Women's Kaye Adams on her BBC Radio Scotland show in which she told how she was 'fascinated' by James' ability to cook and entertain his celebrity guests at the same time, likening the skill to 'choreography. 

However, James then admitted that it wasn't as easy as it looks as his 'severe' dyslexia makes things 'really difficult', reports The Express.

Laughing in response to Kaye's praise, James shared: 'I'm watching you do your thing while I'm listening to music play and you're like a conductor. I can't do what you do and I certainly can't when I've been on Loose Women with you as well.

'I certainly admire anyone who's able to do that.'

Detailing his on screen struggle, he went on: 'Weirdly I can cook and talk at the same time but presenting I still find really difficult. 

'I'm severely dyslexic so reading anything off an autocue is really hard work, so if I'm allowed to cook and chat that's where I feel at home.'

James has previously spoken of his dyslexia, revealing it didn't get diagnosed until he was 30 after he struggled for many years.

On his show earlier this year, James revealed the secret way he overcame his struggles while filming the cooking programme.

Speaking to newsreader Lucrezia Millarini, he said: 'Well, like you do the reading, I'm severely dyslexic. I have this amazing woman called Sam, Sam [on the] autocue, who puts stuff on bigger type for me so that I can properly read it.'

It comes after James gave an update on his cancer battle during an appearance on Lorraine earlier this year. 

The TV chef has previously had surgery to remove facial cancer after his first diagnosis in 2018. 

Lorraine asked if he was feeling good during the star's April appearance to which the chef replied: 'Yes, the stitches have fallen out, as you know, the last time I was on, I was in the middle of operations. 

'As we speak, the stitches have fallen out of my body at the moment and that's all clear, onwards and upwards!'

James first went public with his cancer battle last year when his foul-mouthed rant at his TV crew was laid bare by an extraordinary leaked tape recorded shortly after his diagnosis.

The TV star berated crew working on his food show James Martin's Spanish Adventure, with the extraordinary tape leaked to The Sun.

He told the newspaper that the outburst was the culmination of a string of unfortunate events in his life, which began with the death of his grandfather, then was followed by a home invasion by masked burglars, and finally his cancer diagnosis.

He said: 'I was then diagnosed with cancer on my face and I had to have surgery, which I couldn't do until two days before Christmas when we had finished filming. Since then it has returned on several occasions and I have to have regular treatments.'