She was forced to confess that a dog she was seen walking in her new cookery show wasn’t hers and was merely a prop.
And Nigella Lawson was moving on from the incident, stepping out in London on Christmas eve to pick up the last bits for her family celebrations.
The 57-year-old domestic goddess was spotted strolling along the street in style, laden down with bags after paying a visit to a cheese shop.
Festive shopping: Nigella Lawson was moving on from the incident, stepping out in London on Christmas eve to pick up the last bits for her family celebrations
Elegant: Nigella was rocking an all-black ensemble, comprising a smart coat
Nigella was rocking an all-black ensemble, comprising a smart coat, trousers and casual trainers.
In a recent episode of At My Table, the culinary star was seen sauntering through a misty forest during an early-morning stroll with her pet Labradoodle.
However, Nigella has let it slip that the lovable pooch is not hers, and in fact belongs to the owners of a barn used by the BBC to film exterior shots for the show.
Gourmet feast: The 57-year-old domestic goddess was spotted strolling along the street in style, laden down with bags after paying a visit to a cheese shop
It comes a few weeks after the illusion that the 57-year-old was cooking in the kitchen of her own plush home in west London was shattered.
Shots of Nigella winking at the camera as she works in a kitchen that mixes top-of-the range equipment with shabby-chic utensils are actually filmed within three flimsy walls in a warehouse in Acton.
Now the pretense of picturesque walks with Meg the dog is under scrutiny after a tweet sent to a fan by Nigella.
Spotted: In this week’s episode of At My Table, the ‘domestic goddess’ was seen sauntering through a misty forest during an early-morning stroll with her pet Labradoodle
Not hers: However, Nigella has let it slip that the lovable pooch is not hers, and in fact belongs to the owners of a barn used by the BBC to film exterior shots for the show
A viewer asked: ‘Who is the dog? Why has he not blessed our screens before?! He is SO beautiful.’
Miss Lawson replied: ‘Alas not my dog. She’s called Meg. Meg belongs to the owners of @RedfordFarmBarn who I rented the barn from
‘She’s a Labradoodle with a bit of lurcher thrown in.’
During the show, filmed near Ludlow, Shropshire, Nigella told viewers: ‘I am unapologetically urban, but this year I have felt the call of the wild.
Speaking out: The pretense of picturesque walks with Meg the dog is under scrutiny after a tweet sent to a fan by Miss Lawson
A viewer asked: ‘Who is the dog? Why has he not blessed our screens before?! He is SO beautiful.’ Miss Lawson replied: ‘Alas not my dog. She’s called Meg’
In the kitchen: Shots of Miss Lawson winking at the camera as she works in a kitchen that mixes top-of-the range equipment with shabby-chic utensils are actually filmed in a warehouse in Acton
‘So I have decamped to the countryside. I just felt the need to wake up under a big sky.’
Although Nigella rops frequent hints to make viewers believe they are getting a through-the-keyhole view of her mews house in one of central London’s most fashionable residential streets, the programme is actually filmed several miles away on a film set at an industrial estate.
In the BBC press release for the programme, she even tells of her delight at showing off her newly renovated kitchen, adding: ‘I’m very excited… for you to see the re-done kitchen!’ Her real kitchen may have been re-done, but her fans won’t actually get to see it.
All the backdrops are false. The plants in the fake kitchen garden are made to sway in a fake breeze from fans, and even books on the shelves are simply a row of cardboard spines.
Viewers could be forgiven for thinking that Nigella lives in one of several desirable London homes shown briefly on screen, but that, too, is make-believe. Instead, she lives in a pink mews house in a cobbled street.
Nigella told viewers: ‘I am unapologetically urban, but this year I have felt the call of the wild’