BBC's Saturday Kitchen presenter Matt Tebbutt has opened up about stepping into fellow chef James Martin's shoes, admitting that taking over someone else's show "isn't easy"09:04, 13 Jun 2026Television presenter and chef Matt Tebbutt has opened up about the reality of stepping into James Martin's shoes, after the 53-year-old departed BBC's Saturday Kitchen following a decade at the helm.‌Matt, 52, assumed the role in 2017 when the Yorkshire-born culinary star departed for ITV to launch his own programme, James Martin's Saturday Morning.‌Matt, who recently succeeded Gregg Wallace on MasterChef: The Professionals, acknowledged that while the transition proved challenging, his approach remains consistent across different programmes - stamping his own identity on the role "without making too many waves".‌Speaking to Yours magazine, he said: "Stepping into a new job isn't easy especially when you're taking over somebody else's gig on TV like I did with MasterChef: The Professionals."He continued: "I did it under totally different circumstances, when James Martin left Saturday Kitchen. I always just try and make my own mark without making too many waves in a new job. And I won't. Never mind a safe pair of hands, I'll be as safe as houses!".This marks another occasion where Matt has discussed his Saturday Kitchen tenure and the evolution of his professional journey since taking the reins.‌During a recent conversation with the Express's Fran Winston at Jeremy Clarkson's FarmFest earlier this month, he reflected that despite beginning his working life as a professional chef, he now considers himself more of a 'TV chef'.He admitted: "I think it is fair to say now I am probably a TV chef. I originally started as a working chef doing all the hours for 14 years.‌"That's a tough game. TV cookery isn't. It comes with other pressures. There are time pressures. Conformity. I mean I've always been a chef but I think now it's veered into 'TV chef'."While Matt continues his role on the BBC's Saturday Kitchen, he recently revealed he wouldn't be returning as a full-time judge on MasterChef: The Professionals.Matt had been selected to take over from Gregg Wallace on the show. Gregg was sacked from MasterChef last year after a review later upheld 45 of the 83 allegations made against him, which reportedly mostly occurred between 2005 and 2018.‌Speaking about his departure on Instagram earlier this year, he stated: "A lot of lovely people have contacted me about not doing the next series of MasterChef: The Professionals. I was only ever doing one series and I loved judging on it and will continue working with MasterChef."Yet during a subsequent appearance on BBC Radio 4's The Food Programme, Matt confessed he was genuinely hurt by how things unfolded, though he'd been attempting to remain strong.‌He said: "It was, yes, of course it is [difficult]. I mean, I'm not going to say I wasn't upset. I was really upset. And it could have been handled a lot better."You know, there's worse things going on. You've got to be pretty resilient. It's part of the game, really. I guess it's like if you're a politician, you're going to get knocks."So it's just par for the course, I think. Walking into such an established show, whatever had happened before, you don't want to be that guy that turns up and steamrollers everything.Article continues below"To then go in and get to know the personalities of Monica and Marcus, and get to know the crew and still do your job and deliver, it was a lot."Matt Tebbutt is back on our screens this Saturday for Saturday Kitchen at 9am on BBC One, while James Martin will be appearing on Saturday Morning at 9.30am on ITV1.