‘The first two months were hell': James Tanner on road to recovery after ‘brutal’ accident

Chef James Tanner has spoken publicly for the first time about the incident which left him severely injured and required lengthy surgery.

In October 2025, James’s brother and business partner Chris Tanner posted a video message on social media informing that James had “shattered his pelvis in three places” after a “pretty horrific accident”.

No further details were shared as James embarked on a long road to recovery.

However, fans of the TV chef, who co-owns Barbican Kitchen in Plymouth and The Kentish Hare in Kent, were pleased when he reappeared on our TV screens earlier this month, as part of the lineup for James Martin's Saturday Morning on ITV.

What happened to James Tanner?

James shattered his pelvis in three places after slipping down a set of wet, concrete steps at his brother Chris’s house in October 2025, and needed five hours of surgery at Derriford Hospital.

Approaching one year since it happened, James spoke to The Staff Canteen to discuss the incident and recovery since.

"It was a stupid freak accident,” he said.

“I didn't do myself any favours because I was rushing. I stacked it down a set of wet, very steep concrete steps.

“It's at my brother's house. There are steps there and I'd usually grab on the handrails and swing down. It was just a natural thing. But it was pretty torrential rain and I didn’t have the best grip.

“I landed on the corner of my right side. That cracked my pelvis graphically badly, just the way I landed, and then it cracked it twice at the front as well. I went down the rest of the steps, and there's a wall at the bottom. My legs hit it and it pushed my leg up into it. So, it was that bad.”

"The hospital said, this is quite common, accidents happen and everyone kept calling it an accident, so I just went along with it. But it was pretty brutal, if I'm honest.

"But it's happened. It's something you've got to live with.

"They said it was going to be a really long road to recovery, which it is, but they're amazed because I'm ahead of where I should be.

“The first two months were hell. You weren't allowed to put your foot down at all. I basically couldn't do anything and I was pretty immobilised, almost practically bed bound, for the first two months of it. It was really debilitating.

"And then you're meant to be building up gradually. I went to see my surgeon for the checkup and he goes, ‘nothing's moved out of place, everything I put in there is still in place where it should be’. Because basically, he got the old titanium Meccano set out and bolted me back together.

“I've got a foot-long scar going down my right bum cheek, because you can imagine how much they had to open me up to get in there.

"That unfortunately affects the muscles in your leg and tendons. Obviously they're very careful and very experienced in what they're doing. I'm eternally grateful to the guys.

"It's all part of the rehab, but when he said, I want you to very lightly start now, just touching the floor and putting your foot down, I was going through a bit of, my God, I've just ruined my life.

"And then I just thought, look, I'm not having it. I went on Amazon, bought a spin bike and put that in my kitchen at home. I could barely get on it. I just started that movement of pedalling with no resistance.

"I just started doing ten minutes a day, and don't get me wrong, I'd need to lie down and fall asleep for two hours after it. But then ten minutes started turning into 10k, and I started getting a bit of distance.”

{contribute-overlay}

He added: “I tried everything, if I'm honest. Hydrotherapy, hyperbaric chamber, which is meant to be good for bone regeneration, physiotherapy through the NHS. Then they saw I was keen, so they offered me another physiotherapy gym course.

“Alongside all of that, I had an outside physiotherapy guy.

"The thing that really got me, and it was really noticeable to me, was how much my right leg shrunk compared to my left, from not using it. I had like a pigeon leg, you know?

"And they were like, look, you lose it without use really, really quickly. The hardest bit is getting it back, and it's going to take a lot of time. So they've already warned me, it’s up to two years recovery.

"And I was like, oh shit, when they said that. Obviously I was worried about work and everything, and just life and bills and God knows what else. And I just thought, no, I'm not having it. I've got to keep pushing on."

Determination to get back in the kitchen

With his family helping him through the difficult early stages, the thing that kept James going through his rehab was the goal of getting back into the kitchen, despite suggestions from the doctors it may not be the best place for him.

“They tried to have a conversation with me about lifestyle changes and jobs and work,” he recalled.

“We've got bending down for fridges, running up and down stairs like I used to, in and out of cold rooms, carrying equipment, carrying pots.

“Also, a lot of people that have the trauma that I did, they don't necessarily get over it, with regards to walking, or walking unaided. I think more of it is if I would have been carrying a bit of weight, just because of the pressure and where it was, and it's a much longer process.

“I listened to what they had to say, but walked out of it and was like, no, I'm not doing that, I’m not changing anything. That's not me. I just didn't want to accept it.”

He added: “Being back at work, you're on your feet all day in the kitchen, and at first it's hell. But it's just that movement. I did struggle a bit, if I'm honest, when I first went back. But it's got better.

"I really wanted to get back into work, and I tried at the end of March with Chris, because he was based in Plymouth and Kent was covered.

“There's an outside pastry section at the brasserie, so I wasn't in the main kitchen where people were going to bump into me. So I thought, I'll go on the outside bit on pastry, a little bit more relaxed.

"The first night I went in, we were fully booked on a Saturday night, I got absolutely slapped, and I'm like, Jesus Christ, I can't even bend down to the fridge.

“So then reality hit and I calmed it down a bit, but then just started going back in gradually from then, in April and then May."

"I really, really wanted to do Royal Ascot. I've been doing it 11 years, but one of them was COVID, it was online, it didn't really count for me. I wanted to physically be there and doing it, with two restaurant sites, for the proper year number ten. And I managed to do it.

"I look back now and think, how the hell did I do that? People were saying to me, I don't know how the hell you're doing this. But by that point, obviously, I wasn't on crutches. I was just walking a bit funny.

“My walking is a lot better now.”

How is James Tanner now?

The recovery process is still very much ongoing for James, but now he is keen to look forwards.

“It was just a random catalogue of events,” he explained.

“I don’t normally go round to Chris’s after service on a Saturday. The ironic thing was, the only reason I went there was to go through figures, because we'd noticed things being tight in the last quarter of last year.

“I live up the road, I used to jog back, push myself a bit and do it in 12 minutes. It's a thing I've done loads of times, and I just went for it. I usually swung down the steps, but I slipped and seriously screwed myself up.

“What a way to mark getting into your 50s!”

He added: "When I last saw my surgeon, he said ‘for you to be able to walk into my office unaided, it's unbelievable’.

“One of the biggest things that really helped was that we've got fantastic crews at both sites that we work very hard with. The guys and girls there are great.

“It's been a massive boost (being back) the last few months.

“Don't get me wrong, I'm still cautious and careful with what I do.

"It does make you think, it really does. But it also makes you think what you've got, what you can do, and what you're grateful for.

"Physically and mentally I'm a lot better now. I didn't have massive depression over it or anything like that, I just wanted to get back.

"The worst bit was the first two months, 100 percent.

"But moving forward, it's great that we've had a banging summer at both sites, and to be able to do the events again and everything.

“Now this will roll past and before you know it, it'll be Christmas. That's the way I look at it. Then bring on a new start to the new year.”