James Martin looks happier than ever as he bounces back from a rollercoaster year.
And it seems it’s all down to his new personal trainer girlfriend Kim Johnson, 38, who has abs to die for and a VERY famous ex-husband.
James’s new romance comes after he split from his girlfriend of 12 years, Louise Davies, whom he remains good friends with.
And while he’s largely keeping quiet about his personal life, it’s clear to see that James, 51, is happy being seen being very tactile in public with beautiful Kim.
James couldn’t wipe the big smile from his face when they stepped out together in London on Saturday.
How James Martin looks happier than ever as he bounces back from a rollercoaster year – and it’s all down to new personal trainer girlfriend Kim Johnson, 38, who has abs to die for and a VERY famous ex-husband! (Pictured together on Saturday)
Kim previously shares this bikini-clad picture of herself on holiday but has set all her social media accounts to private after embarking on her new romance
On Saturday, James and Kim didn’t mind who saw them looking loved-up as they placed their arms around one another, just above one another’s bottoms
The couple were first pictured together in April when they were seen jewellery shopping in Tiffany’s in Old Bond Street (pictured)
And what’s more, the pair weren’t afraid who saw them with their arms around eachother, with their hands placed slightly above one another’s bottoms.
The pair were first spotted looking at jewellery store in Tiffany’s in London’s Old Bond Street in April, which led to their relationship coming to light.
While James split from his long-term love in December, Kim was previously married to Elizabeth Hurley’s ex-husband Arun Nayar, 59, going their separate ways in 2017.
Arun and Elizabeth were previously married for four years, splitting in 2011.
He and Kim first got together after the split and went on to tie the knot in July 2016, but then divorced the following year.
Her official Instagram handle is @kimjohnson.pt and her name is still Kim Nayar in her bio.
She has now set her account as private but had it verified in January after her old account was hacked.
But it doesn’t look like James and Kim couple will be tying the knot anytime soon.
The unveiling of James’s romance signalled the end of his 12-year relationship with Louise Davies, having parted ways in December with the aim of remaining ‘firm friends’ (pictured 2015)
Kim is the ex-wife of Arun Nayar, tying the knot in July 2016, before divorcing the following year (pictured in 2015)
Kim’s official Instagram handle is @kimjohnson.pt and her name is still Kim Nayar in her bio
Speaking to the Sunday People in 2019, James revealed why he is not interested in marriage.
He said: ‘No, it doesn’t interest me in the slightest, mainly because I’ve catered for so many weddings, really.
‘I admire people who do it, that’s fine, but I’m quite happy. I don’t need to spend 60 grand on a day, no, I’m more than happy thanks.’
No doubt James is pleased to have some good fortune in his life after a turbulent few year.
In December, James quietly split from his long-term Louise.
The chef and the TV producer, 47, first began dating in 2011 after they met on the set of Celebrity Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
The couple lived together in a mansion in Hampshire during their relationship.
A spokesperson for James confirmed they parted ways in December 2023 and remain firm friends.
And last summer, James found himself at the centre of a very public scandal when he was accused of bullying and intimidating behaviour by crew working on his ITV food show.
Reports then emerged of a second incident with ITV, as it was claimed the broadcaster had previously been made aware of James’ conduct following a separate incident in 2018.
Subsequently, James apologised for his behaviour and admitted the turmoil that was going on his personal life.
He opened up about unfortunate events in his life, which began with the death of his grandfather, then was followed by a home invasion by masked burglars, and then a shock cancer diagnosis.
Last July, ITV were forced to confirm they had spoken to the star after concerns were raised over the treatment of crew members during the filming of James Martin’s Spanish Adventure in May.
Reports then emerged of a second incident with ITV in 2018, when he launched a foul-mouthed tirade against staff after a drain was blocked at his home during the production of his show, James Martin’s Saturday Morning.
After investigating the matter, ITV chiefs told the programme’s production company Blue Marlin that changes would be made immediately, online news website Deadline reports.
James responded by saying ‘lessons have been learned’ and apologised for ‘acting emotionally’.
Sources at ITV told the Mail that bosses would be taking a ‘close interest in any future filming’ featuring the chef, whose affable demeanour has earned him a huge fan base.
Regarding the reports of this being the second outburst James had been accused of, a Blue Marlin spokesperson addressed the first incident.
They said: ‘An unfortunate incident occurred after filming James Martin’s Saturday Morning in 2018 where James’ home was badly damaged.
‘Blue Marlin Television accepted responsibility. James was shocked by what had happened and on reflection acknowledges he responded emotionally, which he wholly regrets.
‘James apologises for any offence or upset caused, as he did at the time to the crew involved.’
They added: ‘Following this and some issues filming James Martin’s Spanish Adventures, James and Blue Marlin Television agree that lessons have been learned which have been discussed with members of the team and with ITV.
‘Blue Marlin Television and James Martin have taken on board ITV’s recommendations and their sharing of best practice, and are in the process of fully implementing.
‘Since the 2018 incident, Blue Marlin Television has continued to film over 500 shows at James’ home.
‘Blue Marlin Television remains committed to ensuring the welfare of all those with whom they work is of the utmost priority.’
An ITV spokesman said at the time: ‘At ITV people and their welfare are our highest priority. The production companies who make shows for us have primary responsibility for the duty of care of everyone they work with, both on and off screen.
‘We make clear our expectations in this regard as part of our pre-greenlight duty of care processes. This includes having appropriate independent controls in place to enable everyone who works on their shows to confidently and confidentially raise concerns.
‘Following a complaint we received in May from members of the Blue Marlin production team about the filming of James Martin’s Spanish Adventure, we contacted Blue Marlin to discuss these concerns and to understand how the issues raised were being addressed and what actions were being taken.
‘As a result, we made a number of recommendations for Blue Marlin to implement as soon as possible, sharing best practice of some of our own relevant procedures around staff welfare and reiterating our Supplier Code of Conduct.’
Audio footage of his shocked rant was then leaked to The Sun, and in response to the shock outburst, James said that the end of 2017 was ‘one of the most fraught and difficult periods of my life’.
In the recording, he swore 42 times and says his staff should be ‘f***ing fried’ and orders them to take their lunch break standing in the ‘f***ing rain’.
He demanded that his team showed him and his house ‘more f***ing respect’, adding: ‘If not, you’re gone.’
Reflecting on the outburst, he admitted that he was dealing with the death of his last living grandparent, his grandfather, and that he could not attend his funeral due to work commitments.
James added that he was burgled by masked men later that month who entered his home while his partner Louise was at home alone and he was away working.
Businessman Arun was previously married to actress Elizabeth Hurley from 2007 to 2011 (pictured together in 2010)
Hen then shockingly revealed his cancer diagnosis, adding that he was in a ‘very emotional state’ from all the stress.
James told The Sun: ‘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.’
He said that he became ‘extremely upset’ when his home flooded while filming in 2018. The chef claims the drain blockage caused £30,000 worth of damage.
‘I can only say I am human and following a build-up of personal life pressure, I admit that I overreacted regarding the damage to my home,’ he told The Sun.
In November, James gave fans an update on his health woes as he revealed he would be taking from his TV career amid his ongoing cancer treatment.
He said at a public appearance: ‘On a personal note, I just wanted to say thank you for 30 years of television.
‘For me personally, I’ve been through a lot of s**t with cancer but I’m getting sorted at the end of next month.
‘I will be back fighting at the end of February but I’m going on a little bit of a break to get that sorted.’
Prior to his relationship with Louise, James enjoyed a four-and-a-half year romance with James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli.
The chef and the film boss, 63, met when she paid £18,000 to have him cook a meal for her as part of a charity auction in 2001 when he was 29.
The pair clicked right away and James cooked for her again at her birthday party.
Martin, 12 years younger than Broccoli, insisted the age difference never posed a problem in their relationship.
Writing in the Daily Mail, he said: ‘The age difference never appeared to be a problem. I’ve always liked independent women: we both had strong opinions and plenty to say for ourselves, so life was never boring.’
He described her as ‘the first real love of my life’ and said he will always think the world of her.
They ultimately went their separate ways when James realised there was an ‘imbalance’ in their relationship.
Broccoli lavished him with gifts including a Picasso painting and once offered to buy him a £180,000 Aston Martin which he felt was too expensive.
Recalling the breakup, he wrote: ‘To walk away from someone you love and who loves you that much is hard.
‘Maybe it was the daftest thing I have done in my life but it was probably the most sensible, too.
‘In the end I think it was for the best, not just for Barbara and me but also for her children.’
James Martin, 51, in his own words on the ‘love of his life’ Barbara Broccoli, 63, and the dark side of their age-gap romance that ‘dented his male pride’ – as he moves on from long-term girlfriend Louise Davies with Kim Johnson
Famously private about his love life, James Martin, 51, quietly parted ways with longterm partner Louise Davies in December, yet the pair have remained ‘firm friends’.
Despite being together for more than a decade, James rarely spoke about Louise only to admit marriage was off the table for the pair because he was ‘quite happy’ as he was and didn’t ‘feel the need to spend 60 grand on a day.’
His reluctance to speak about his love life has come only in later years, however, with James openly declaring that James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli, 63, whom he dated prior to meeting Louise was the ‘love of his life’.
The chef and the film boss first met at a charity auction in 2001 when Barbara, then 41, paid £18,000 to have him cook a meal for her when he was 29-years-old and a star on the rise.
James Martin, 51, wrote about the ‘love of his life’ Barbara Broccoli, 63, and the dark side of their age-gap romance that ‘dented his male pride’ for the Daily Mail in 2008
The pair clicked right away and James cooked for her again at her birthday party leading to a blossoming romance.
Yet things came to an end in 2008. And James, who is 12 years younger than Barbara, wasn’t shy of speaking out about the problems they faced in their relationship.
He admitted he was ‘a bit of a late starter when it came to women’ and noted that when accompanying Barbara to glitzy film premieres and hobnobbing with the stars of Bond films he felt ‘out of my depth, a spare part’.
Writing for the Daily Mail in October 2008, James – who had by then moved on with Miss England 2001, Sally Kettle – explained how their age gap and wealth got in the way of their relationship.
Barbara had lavished the chef with gifts including a Picasso painting and once offered to buy him a £180,000 Aston Martin, but James confessed his ‘male pride’ stopped him from accepting such extravagant purchases.
James noted that while their age gap wasn’t a bother to him as he had ‘always liked independent women’, it ‘didn’t help matters in public’.
He confessed: ‘When we went to functions I felt uncomfortable when people looked at me, this nobody, and probably thought, “He’s with her for the money”.’
Despite the hurdles they faced, James insisted: ‘Barbara was the first real love of my life. I still think the world of her and always will.’
He described their breakup poignantly, writing: ‘To walk away from someone you love and who loves you that much is hard.
‘Maybe it was the daftest thing I have done in my life but it was probably the most sensible, too. In the end I think it was for the best, not just for Barbara and me but also for her children.’
Read on for James’ full analysis of their relationship in his own words.
A spokesperson for the TV chef, 51, confirmed James and Louise parted ways in December 2023 and remain firm friends (pictured 2019)
Why did I split with Barbara Broccoli? She tried to buy me a £180,000 Aston Martin, by TV chef James Martin
My girlfriend once bought me a Picasso. Not a Picasso print or a Picasso poster but a genuine Picasso. Actually, it wasn’t just one, it was three.
Perhaps it makes more sense if I tell you that the woman in question was the Bond producer Barbara Broccoli, one of the most powerful people in Hollywood and more than ten years my senior.
And if this generosity wasn’t tricky enough – for instance, what exactly does a man do with such a valuable work of art? – Barbara then insisted on buying me a state-of-the-art Aston Martin DBS, chassis number 007, costing an eye-watering £180,000. Just because I said I liked it.
I was a bit of a late starter when it came to women. Cars and cooking were my passions but by the time I was old enough to fully appreciate girls, I was able to flambé chicken livers and was obsessed with Ferraris. Women were a distraction I didn’t have time for.
I was born in Yorkshire in 1972 and grew up around food. At eight, I was washing pots in the kitchens of Castle Howard, where my father was manager, and after catering college I headed off to London with £50 in my pocket.
Those early days were tough. I worked for Antony Worrall Thompson for a tiny wage but at least that was better than the big fat zero I got from my next boss, Marco Pierre White.
When I was seven, I had boasted to my grandfather that I wanted to be a head chef by the age of 30, have my own restaurant at 35 and own a Ferrari when I was 40. I never imagined I would achieve those ambitions by the time I was 24.
I opened the Hotel du Vin in Winchester just before my 22nd birthday and bought my first Ferrari, a stunning black 360 costing £82,000, two years later.
For reasons I’ve never understood, my life has been full of headstrong women who, no doubt bored with waiting for me to notice them, have made the first move.
Which is probably just as well: most of them were so obviously out of my league I wouldn’t have given myself a chance.
James revealed: ‘Barbara insisted on buying me a state-of-the-art Aston Martin DBS, chassis number 007, costing an eye-watering £180,000. Just because I said I liked it’
Meeting Barbara, daughter of the first Bond producer, ‘Cubby’ Broccoli, was unusual to say the least. She ‘won’ me in a charity auction in 2001 when I was 29, paying £18,000 to have me cook a meal at her Chelsea house. Perhaps it was my trademark dessert dish of spun sugar that swung it.
Six weeks later I turned up at Barbara’s to make the meal for her and five friends. The evening was hilarious – and we just clicked.
I didn’t know she was co-producer of the current James Bond films with her half-brother Michael G. Wilson. I just thought she was an amazing woman.
The following day I told my then personal assistant Erica about the evening. She decided to play Cupid, calling Barbara’s PA. It transpired that Barbara’s PA was trying to organise a surprise for her birthday, so I offered to cook.
Thus began my longest relationship, the most surreal, exciting and unforgettable four-and-a-half years of my life.
Barbara was incredibly easy to be around. My phrase for her was ‘Being with you is as easy as breathing’ and it was true. She’s generous to a fault. She’d never ask for anything but would give everything to make you happy.
Unlike many in her business, Barbara is not pretentious or ostentatious – she drives a Volvo, for crying out loud – and when it was just the two of us she was the best company you could ask for.
The age difference never appeared to be a problem. I’ve always liked independent women: we both had strong opinions and plenty to say for ourselves, so life was never boring.
I’ve always been mature. I grew up quickly, cooking in Michelin-starred restaurants in France during my teenage years.
Now, I thought I had done well for myself – I was appearing on the BBC cookery show Ready Steady Cook, I had published books and even had an account with Coutts – until I met Barbara. She wasn’t just in the megaleague, she was at the very top of it.
We had been together for three months or so when she invited me to join her in Los Angeles. Her house was massive – the lounge alone was twice the size of my home.
‘What am I doing here?’ I kept thinking. ‘How did this happen?’
One day, while Barbara was out, I answered the door to a man dressed in a black suit holding a silver plate with an envelope.
Inside was a set of car keys with a prancing horse on the fob and a note from Barbara which read: ‘Enjoy Beverly Hills, I’ll see you later, love B.’
On the drive was a silver Ferrari 360 Spyder, exactly the same as the black 360 I once owned but with a soft top which, let’s face it, you’ve got to have in Beverly Hills.
He confessed: ‘Now, I thought I had done well for myself – I was on the BBC’s Ready Steady Cook – until I met Barbara. She wasn’t just in the megaleague, she was at the very top of it’ (L-R Antony Worrall-Thompson, Dominic Cork, Ainsley Harriott, Anne Robinson and James)
With that the phone rang. It was Barbara, checking I had got it.
‘Yeah, I’ve got it,’ I replied, ‘but what am I supposed to do with it?’
‘Well,’ she said, ‘you’re on the insurance, just go for a drive and enjoy LA.’
A few days earlier I had been in my little house in England – now I was driving along Rodeo Drive in a silver Ferrari 360 with cream leather interior – the odour of Ferrari leather is unique, it’s like they genetically engineer it to smell of money.
So what did I do? I headed for a KFC drive-thru and bought myself a Bargain Bucket.
There were always surprises with Barbara. One year I went to the Baftas in London with her. As we waited for the show to start, Halle Berry, who was then the new Bond girl, sat next to me.
She turned to Barbara, seated in the row behind me, and said: ‘Hi, B, how ya doin’?’ Then she said to me: ‘Hey, James, how’s it goin’?’
Sorry? What? Me? While I was trying to get my head around that, Nicole Kidman sat in front of me. She too turned around. ‘Hi, Barb, hi, James.’
As the lights went down and the show started I tried subtly to send text messages to my mum: Halle Berry and Nicole Kidman just asked how I was doing.
Barbara leaned forward. ‘What are you doing?’ she asked. ‘Nothing, just checking to see if I’ve got any messages.’
I was used to meeting famous people, yet still I was star-struck. I felt like a small fish in a very big pond. I was out of my depth, a spare part.
Cars, however, are a great leveller. That’s why I got on with Daniel Craig. We sat opposite each other at dinner in a private room at Nobu in Park Lane one night, chatting about motors.
We later went to the Aston Martin headquarters in Warwickshire to see the new DBS for the first time.
This was the Aston Martin Daniel would drive in Casino Royale, but at this stage the car had not even been built – it was just a clay model. It was a pitch by the company, looking for Barbara’s approval.
Barbara wasn’t much interested in cars so she wanted me to look over it. A cover was pulled off to reveal a full-size clay model spray-painted to look exactly as the finished car would. It was all top secret.
James confessed: ‘I got on with Daniel Craig. We sat opposite each other at dinner in a private room at Nobu in Park Lane one night, chatting about motors’ (Daniel and Barbara pictured in 2019)
‘It’s all right that, isn’t it?’ Daniel said to me. ‘What do you think?’
‘That’s f****** ace,’ I said. ‘It looks the b*******.’
The detail was incredible. They had mock-ups of the interior and the Bond gadgets that were going to go on it – the defibrillator, the champagne holder in the back.
Then they started arguing over the colour. One of the guys from Aston Martin said it should be graphite, a gunmetal grey. Barbara asked: ‘What colour do you think it should be, James?’
Everyone knows that Bond’s Aston Martin has got to be silver. The graphite was too grey; it needed to be lighter. On the other hand you don’t want a silver that’s too light otherwise it will just look rubbish.
We went through the colour chart and found the perfect silver. So there you go, if you didn’t like the colour of the DBS in Casino Royale, blame me.
As if that wasn’t enough for one day, Aston Martin boss Ulrich Betz asked Daniel and me if we were ready for a test drive. Which car did we want to go out in first – the new DB9 Sport or an immaculate 1964 platinum DB5 formerly owned by George Harrison?
Barbara was laughing. Daniel and I looked like a couple of eight-year-olds who had just been told they could have any toy in the shop.
Daniel took the DB5 and I drove the DB9 Sport, blatting it around the test track accompanied by drivers telling us to go ‘faster’ and really ‘push it’, which we happily did.
At the time, newspapers were opposed to Daniel being the new Bond and ran ridiculous stories about him, including one that he couldn’t drive. As well as being a brilliant actor, I can tell you he’s pretty handy behind the wheel.
In the four-and-a-half years Barbara and I were together there were many strange Bond- related moments.
I watched the ice hotel in Die Another Day melt in front of me. I accidentally knocked the first script for Casino Royale off the counter in Barbara’s kitchen and only noticed when Fudge, my clumber spaniel, had reshuffled the pages like a pack of cards.
I even babysat Casino Royale Bond girl Eva Green’s yappy little dog in Venice while she and Daniel were sailing up the Grand Canal in a fabulous yacht.
Ask any of my friends and they’ll tell you that I’m the hardest-working person they know. Ask me and I’ll tell you that the hardest-working person I know, and the most generous, is Barbara.
If there’s anyone who thinks Barbara got where she is because her dad was a legendary film producer, they are mistaken.
She took over the Bond films with her half-brother in 1990 and has shown herself willing to take risks – and they usually pay off.
Bringing Pierce Brosnan in turned things around for the Bond franchise; hiring Daniel was also an inspired choice.
I remember the sleepless nights spent over the script for Casino Royale – the idea of taking it all back to the beginning was a huge gamble. But Barbara had the guts to do it and to hire Daniel when everyone was against it.
She showed me old letters from some film executives who wanted Eddie Murphy to be Bond. Can you imagine?
Barbara loves what she does and she adores her children – her daughter Angelica and Michael, who she’s guardian to. She’s a very giving person, and when you’ve got almost limitless resources that can mean you’re giving a hell of a lot.
The first year we were together, Barbara gave me a Picasso for my birthday. We had gone to an exhibition of the artist’s work at a London gallery on our first date and there was one drawing I couldn’t stop looking at.
About six months later, Barbara organised a party for my birthday in Chelsea. She had secretly invited 40 of my friends along and they all showed up with little presents.
James shared: ‘In the four-and-a-half years Barbara and I were together there were many strange Bond- related moments’ (pictured in 2006)
Then Barbara said: ‘I didn’t really want to do this here in front of everyone, but, well, here you are. Happy birthday.’
And with that she handed me this bulky rectangular present. It was the Picasso. An absolutely beautiful thing from his last exhibition.
Barbara always said smart money buys art and that Madonna, who had just recorded the theme song for Die Another Day, had lots of Picassos in her house. Fair enough – only I wasn’t Madonna. I was a TV chef.
I was recording three episodes of Ready Steady Cook the next day. I arrived at the studio in South London with this painting in a brown paper bag in the boot of my Audi because I wouldn’t let it out of my sight. I locked it in my dressing room for six hours while I recorded the shows.
I rang Richard, my man at Coutts, and asked if he could help me out with a valuable work of art. He told me to meet him at their branch on the Strand because it had a massive vault.
After finishing Ready Steady Cook, I drove into Central London and walked down the Strand with a Picasso under my arm in the brown paper bag, praying nobody mugged me.
Richard met me at the door, along with a security guard, and led me to the vault. As Richard was filling in all the paperwork he asked me for the value of the piece, to which I replied: ‘I don’t know.’ I still don’t.
He gave me a funny look, so I explained that it was a present. Then he asked what the painting was. I told him it was a Picasso.
‘No, it’s not,’ he laughed. ‘Yes, it is,’ I said. ‘No, it’s not,’ he insisted. ‘People don’t just carry Picassos around under their arms in brown paper bags.’
I assured him that this person did and that it was most definitely the genuine article. I had to tell Barbara to stop buying me Picassos after the third one because I couldn’t afford the insurance on them.
Instead, she bought me a magnificent pencil drawing of Whitstable by L. S. Lowry instead (I’d mentioned that I liked his work). I still have all four in a vault and I go to see them every now and then.
Barbara also bought me a watch – not just any old watch but a Paul Newman Daytona Rolex, one of the rarest. God knows how she found it.
Barbara had an astonishing ability to remember detail. If you said you liked a painting, six months or a year later she would have found it and bought it for you.
We once saw Ronan Keating on Top Of The Pops and he had this great Tiffany ring on his little finger.
I made an admiring remark about it. Barbara got me an identical ring that Christmas, inscribing inside with our saying: Being with you is as easy as breathing.
During the filming of Casino Royale, I took my mother shopping in Venice to try to find a present for Barbara.
Mum took me to a jewellers where she recalled Barbara had liked a ring – a handmade piece of incredibly fine silver and gold that looked almost like lace. I didn’t ask the price.
I gave the guy my card and at first, when he punched in the total, I thought, ‘F****** hell, it’s €260,000’.
Then I realised that if it was that much, the card would be declined anyway so it didn’t really matter.
The price tag was actually €26,000 – £17,000. It completely wiped me out. My account stood at zero.
I knew I had a big tax bill coming at the end of the next quarter, so I got my head down and worked extremely hard.
James said: ‘Barbara was the first real love of my life. I still think the world of her and always will. I would be there for her tomorrow if anything happened’ (pictured 2022)
Barbara was the first real love of my life. I still think the world of her and always will.
I would be there for her tomorrow if anything happened. We’ve both moved on but it was one of those special relationships where you never forget the times you had together.
Looking back, the days that really stand out for me are those when it was just the two of us. We would switch off our mobile phones and it would be our time.
But that would only happen four or five times a year. If you took away all the money, success, houses and cars we would still have been good together because we clicked. In fact, we would probably still be together.
In our own world, she and I were a great partnership. In her world, though, I felt like an onlooker.
I had worked hard all my life and succeeded in my career, yet I felt like I had suddenly gone down a long snake right back to the beginning.
If I owned 50 restaurants then maybe I would have been able to move more comfortably in her circles but as it was I could not compete.
The age gap didn’t help matters in public. When we went to functions I felt uncomfortable when people looked at me, this nobody, and probably thought, ‘He’s with her for the money’.
They would actually come up to me and say: ‘Oh yeah, you’re the cook.’
But I never wanted anything from Barbara. Maybe it’s male pride but there were certain places I refused to go unless I paid.
When I said I hated us being apart, she said: ‘Why don’t you give it all up, then? I’ll look after you.’ That was the last thing I wanted. To be given a cheque every week? No thanks. I wanted to work.
It was that day we went with Daniel Craig to Aston Martin’s headquarters to see the clay model that it hit home how far apart our worlds were. After I had picked the colour, I added: ‘Of course, if it was for me personally, I’d go for black on black – black paint, black interior.’
Barbara said: ‘Well, have one if you want one.’
I laughed. ‘No, it’s all right.’ She was insistent. ‘Have one.’ She was genuinely going to buy one for me. This was the Aston Martin DBS, price £180,000.
I told her not to be so ridiculous but she was already saying: ‘Yes, we’ll have it black, with black interior, and we’ll have the chassis number 007.’ I continued to say: ‘No, we won’t.’
Barbara replied: ‘Why not? If you want it we’ll get it.’ I tried to explain to her that you can’t just give someone a £180,000 car as a gift. A watch is a gift. A ring is a gift. A £180,000 car is too much.
It wasn’t as if it was my birthday or Christmas – it was just a spur of the moment thought. In the end I said: ‘If I want something, I’ll work for it. Just drop it or we’re going to fall out over this.’
After his split from Barbara, James moved on in the same year with Miss England 2001, Sally Kettle, before then settling down with Louise Davies (pictured 2021) for 12 years
But she and Ulrich Betz continued to organise it so I left them to it.
I don’t know what happened in the end. Barbara probably bought it. She’s probably got a black on black Aston Martin DBS, chassis number 007, in a garage somewhere.
It was a defining moment in our relationship. Deep down, I knew there was always going to be an imbalance.
I told my mum I didn’t think I could handle it any more. ‘You’re mad,’ she said. ‘You’ve got a woman there who adores you, who you absolutely adore. Forget about all the other stuff – that’s irrelevant. It’s just the two of you.’
To walk away from someone you love and who loves you that much is hard. Maybe it was the daftest thing I have done in my life but it was probably the most sensible, too. In the end I think it was for the best, not just for Barbara and me but also for her children.