James Martin hits out at guest on ITV's Saturday Morning as kitchen fire sparks chaos

James Martin's Saturday Morning took an unexpected turn when a guest chef caused a small kitchen fire live on air.

The ITV cooking show, which usually runs smoothly, descended into chaos when celebrity chef Richard Corrigan accidentally ignited a pan of oil.

The incident unfolded as Richard prepared a pancetta soup, but things quickly spiralled out of control when he placed an overheated pan onto wooden logs.

James Martin left stunned as flames erupt

As flames erupted, James, 52, could only watch in disbelief.

"Don't try this at home," he warned viewers as Richard frantically attempted to get the fire under control.

Remaining calm, Richard covered the pan with a lid to smother the flames.

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James, however, was unimpressed. He later joked about the singed tea towel left behind in the aftermath.

"Look what you've done to my tea towel!" he quipped, holding up the burnt cloth.

Undeterred, Richard carried on with his dish, prompting James to sarcastically ask: "Before you go, can I have my tea towel back? I've been Corrigan-ed!"

Not James Martin's first kitchen fire

This isn't the first time James has dealt with unexpected flames in the kitchen.

Speaking on Grilling with Simon Rimmer, the chef previously admitted he once "set fire to the side of his house" during a disastrous attempt at using a homemade Italian pizza oven.

Recounting the experience, James explained: "I love builders, particularly a certain group of Irish builders who are fantastic. But they decided to build an Italian pizza oven roof out of wood instead of metal."

He continued: "Next minute, there was an almighty bang. It was like a huge explosion. There were bits of lamb chops, pork chops, sausages flying over the top of the house!"

His father was standing nearby when the oven burst into flames, though fortunately, no one was hurt.

"Instead of panicking, we just carried on," James laughed. "We gathered up the chops and got back to it."

Fans react to Saturday Morning chaos

Viewers were quick to react to the latest kitchen mishap, with many taking to social media to share their amusement.

One fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter): "Only on Saturday Morning would a guest chef casually set the kitchen on fire and carry on cooking like nothing happened!"

Another joked: "James Martin's tea towel deserves its own segment after that episode!"

A third added: "Richard Corrigan almost burned the set down and James is only worried about his tea towel – iconic."

Despite the fiery incident, the episode continued without further disruptions.

James Martin's Saturday Morning airs Saturdays at 9:30am on ITV1.