Elaine Paige joined James Martin on ITV’s Saturday Morning on Saturday, 30 May, in an episode that quickly drew attention from viewers before the show had even settled in. The West End star appeared as a special guest, and the response online was immediate.
On Facebook, the programme’s own page had already set up the morning with a post teasing Paige alongside chefs Jose Pizarro and Tony Singh and a dish Martin was making in support of Soccer Aid. Once the episode aired at 9.30am, comments came in fast. One viewer wrote, “Elaine's great, forget the rest...”, while another said, “Wonderful to see Elaine Paige as your guest and Chef Tony Singh back in your kitchen James. I'll be watching in the morning.” Others called the line-up “a very good one” and “great lineup.”
The interest was not just about who was on the sofa. Martin also prepared brill on the bone with asparagus, morales, wild garlic and a lemon cream sauce, giving the episode a more traditional kitchen-show feel around the theatre-star booking. Paige, meanwhile, brought the personal story that made her name in the first place. She said she had been “on the verge of thinking I'm going to give all this up, I couldn't get the role I could sink my teeth into,” before landing Evita, which she said “changed my life overnight.”
There was also a lighter interruption when Martin’s dog Lola wandered in while he was speaking with Paige and tried to turn the moment into playtime. “She's doing circles,” Martin said as the dog circled around, while Paige joked that taking the stick Lola was offering would leave her “done for.” It was the kind of unscripted break that television kitchens thrive on, and it only added to the feeling that the guest list had landed well.
Martin told Paige her voice was “timeless, the music is timeless,” a neat summary of why the booking resonated with viewers who still associate her with one of musical theatre’s biggest breakthrough roles. For now, the episode’s pull rests on that simple mix of names, nostalgia and live television mischief: Paige on the sofa, Martin in the kitchen, and Lola making sure nothing stayed too polished for long.
