Celebrity chef James Martin admitted "I can't bend down as quickly as I used to" as three decades in the hospitality industry takes its toll.

The 53-year-old says he loves being a chefbut there is one job in particular that he now needs younger colleagues to perform for him.

He owns a restaurant in Manchester as well as eateries James Martin at The Lygon Arms in the Cotswolds and James Martin at Chewton Glen in Hampshire.

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Speaking to Bolton FM at the Bolton Food and Drink Festival, James said: "Last week I was in a restaurant, we had 160 for lunch and 130 for dinner.

"I can't bend down as quickly as I used to do and pick up the plates for the hot pass. Now I've got youngsters doing that for me. "You've got to love it (being a chef). You've got to really want to do it and you've got to really want to love it.

"And if you do that it's not really a chore. It's the best job in the world. You never stop really (being passionate about cooking)."

James trained as a chef in France before making his first appearance on television in 1996.

After appearances on shows like Ready, Steady, Cook and The Big Breakfast, he got his big break when he took over from Anthony Worrall Thompson as the host of Saturday Kitchen in 2006.

He left the show and the BBC in 2016 before launching James Martin's Saturday Morning on ITV the following year.

James admitted that the hospitality and restaurant business is "getting tougher and tougher" but he still feels "privileged" to put on a chef's jacket for a living.

He said: "It's getting tougher and tougher in hospitality. I'm finding myself more and more involved in that side of the business.

"It's nice to work with a team. Running restaurants and running businesses like that, they're all about teamwork.

"And to have over the years that team that has built up with you, many of which is still with you after all these years. You feel honoured and privileged to be able to put on a chef's jacket and do this for a living."

Meanwhile, James opened up about his dad's harsh two-word reaction when he left his native Yorkshire to move to London.

The celebrity chef revealed that his father told him to "bugger off" as he embarked on his journey to the capital.

Speaking to Visor Down, he recalled: "The day I finished college I said to my dad that I wanted to go and work in London, so he took me home where I packed a bag, then he drove me to the train station and told me to bugger off and have a good time.

"I came to London with 50 quid in my pocket and not a clue what to do. 24 hours later I was working in a kitchen in Kensington."

"When I finished my shifts in the kitchen I used to spend my time pressing my nose up against the glass of fancy car and bike dealerships, day dreaming about one day being able to afford such beautiful machines."

Catch James on James Martin's Saturday Morning today (Saturday, September 6) at 9.30am on ITV.