Ainsley Harriott has claimed that the burden of being a “national treasure” led to the break up of his marriage.

The beloved TV chef explained the difficulties his fame caused in his relationship with ex wife Clare Fellows.

 Asked on Rylan’s How to be in the Spotlight podcast how he coped with his status “as a national treasure”, 

Harriott said: “It’s other people who put you in that category, you don’t put yourself in there

.You’re not someone who brings negativity, you’re someone who brings a smile.

“Most of the time people approach me, even if they bash their supermarket trolley into me, it’s always a lovely moment, been doing it for years.

 They still bring a tomato and a pepper, ‘what you going to do with this?’. I smile, I have a little moment with them. I think it’s difficult for partners. It was certainly difficult for my ex and I think that probably contributed to our break-up because you are sharing the person that you love all the time and that is hard. A lot of people in the industry have been there and you feel divided because there are two of you but ultimately there is only one.”

The 67-year-old separated from Fellows in 2012 after more than a decade in the spotlight with hit show Ready Steady Cook and spoke about how his friends helped him get over the split. But it was difficult to hide the pain from the public.

He explained: “Because I was so natural if I felt a little bit down they [the public] could see it, they could feel it. But at the same timeI was doing a programme that required you to be energetic and stuff like that. It doesn’t affect how you perform necessarily but it lives with you and it’s when you come off stage, and how you deal with it. I have never been a druggie. I have never been a heavy boozer. I did some sport, a bit of tennis,” he said.

“I had support without thinking I had support. Mates would pop round and have a chat or I would go over for a meal. It was just having some company.”

This Morning star Harriott went on to talk about receiving an MBE in 2020 and the pride it brought him and his family.

“I have a studio at home with all the prizes and awards and I have my MBE. I wish my mum had been alive to see me, it was a lovely feeling but I just wish my mum had been there as that generation had the utmost respect for the British Empire. She would have absolutely cried her eyes out, I was crying my eyes.

“It was when I was talking to King Charles (Prince Charles at the time) and then he put it on my lapel and I took one look at my children and the tears started to flow. An immense pride and joy that I’ve been able to do that.”

Harriott has been on our TVs now for almost three decades and is best known for his twenty-one series’ of Ready, Steady, Cook , and well as a number of solo primetime cooking series.

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Source: CNN