James Martin pleads for help as he addresses job loss issue: 'Going through a nightmare'

“There’s a minister for the arts, a minister for tourism and a minister for sport but no minister for hospitality and I think that’s vitally important.”

He added: “So I’m urging you to sign this petition to get us beyond that 100,000 barrier mark to get our say to get our voice heard in the power rooms of London.

“So if you value your coffee at a coffee shop, your cake at a patisserie, your plate of food at a restaurant, and your night away in a hotel – sign it, please.”

James concluded while addressing the reaction to the snap of his late pet pooch: “If one per cent of you that looked at my tweet of my late dog signed this we would get over 100,000 people.