If you’re a fan of TV chef James Martin, then you will know he knows a thing or two about butter – so much so he even wrote a book all about the staple dairy product in 2021.

The book, titled ‘Butter’ features over 130 original recipes that you can make with one of James’ favourite ingredients - from savoury meals such as French onion soup to sweet deserts including cinnamon bread with a caramel butter dip.

Now, the North Yorkshire presenter is calling on the butter alternative margarine to be “banned” as he describes it as “two elements away from plastic”.

What did James Martin say about margarine?

In an interview with The Sunday Post, he said: “Margarine should be banned. It’s dreadful, dreadful stuff, it’s two elements away from plastic, it’s horrendous stuff.

“It’s the ready-made food, it’s the packet food, the hidden salt, hidden fat. That’s the problem in this country.

"It's not the butter in a butter block or butter you put on your toast. It's the fact that not as many people cook in the UK as they do in France or Italy or Spain.”

James also adds that he prefers the “full-fat” stuff, he said: "We’ve always had full-fat milk, butter and cream. And that’s what we had. There wasn’t such a thing as semi-skimmed milk in our house."

The celebrity chef and author was the host of BBC’s Saturday Kitchen for a decade before departing the show to begin his own series titled James Martin’s Saturday Morning on ITV1 in 2017.

His newest series often includes interviewing celebrity guests and chefs which James cooks for every week, whether in the kitchen or making the most of his garden oven outdoors.

His lhasa apso dog Ralph often makes an appearance on screen as he strolls around the set to see what the cast is up to, bringing a smile to viewers' faces throughout the show.