James Martin drops out of Yorkshire Dales Food and Drink Festival with two-sentence statement

Mr Martin had been due to be one of the main attractions at the event, which is taking place between July 18 and 20 at Aireville Park in Skipton. Other chefs on the line up include Simon Rimmer and Rosemary Shrager, while music is due to be provided by the likes of The Feeling and Go West.

The food and drink festival is returning this year under new ownership having not taken place last year.

The popular annual event had been running since 2016 and was previously held at Funkirk Farm near Skipton but the 2024 festival was cancelled after the company behind it, Events by B3 Ltd, went into liquidation. Traders and ticketholders were collectively owed more than £700,000 at the time of the company’s collapse.

The revived festival is now being run by Cocker Hoop Creative.

In a social media post on Wednesday afternoon, Mr Martin said: “I’m so sorry but unfortunately, due to circumstances outside of my control, I will no longer be appearing at The Yorkshire Dales Food and Drink Festival.

"Please contact the organisers if you have any questions.”

In a statement to The Yorkshire Post, Jon Arrowsmith, managing director of The Yorkshire Dales Food & Drink Festival, did not directly address why Mr Martin has decided not to attend.

He said: “We’re absolutely gutted that James has decided not to join us this year, we know how popular he is and understandably his fans will be disappointed by his decision.

“Running festivals is not for the faint-hearted and it certainly has its ups and downs. We’ve worked hard to rebuild the festival after it collapsed and we knew it would come with its challenges – maybe not as many as we’re facing – but we’re working through them.

“Please bear with us as we finalise our line-up and hire a replacement chef. But let me reassure everyone, we remain as committed as ever in our promise to deliver a festival Yorkshire will be proud of and one everyone will enjoy.”