Nigella Lawson has said she is not skilled enough to make it as a contestant on The Great British Bake Off.
The 55-year-old, who is about to bring out her 10th cookbook, told Radio Times that she was 'just a home cook' and the recipes on the baking competition were 'too complicated'.
Speaking about how she’s a trusted figure in Britain, Nigella said: “I feel that trust is sacred. I would never abuse that. Part of it is that people know how limited my skills are.
“I wouldn’t get on Bake Off, it’s too complicated. I like baking in a homespun kind of way – if I make cookies, I don’t expect them all to look the same. I’m not being modest; I’m a home cook.”
(Ian West/PA)
Nigella found that trust put to the test when she admitted taking cocaine during a fraud trial against her and her ex-husband Charles Saatchi’s former personal assistants, sisters Elisabetta and Francesca Grillo, in 2013.
Her name also became front page news the same year when Saatchi was photographed with his hands around her throat outside a restaurant in Mayfair but Nigella said she does not allow herself to get caught up in the media 'circus act'.
“Well, it’s not that it doesn’t matter. I don’t know if I take myself seriously enough. There’s a circus act element, which really makes me cringe. I’m not actually a performer.”
The TV cook admitted personally running her various social media accounts and said that she she simply blocks any trolls who attack her online.
(Jonathan Brady/PA)
Talking about press scrutiny over her weight, Nigella said she maintained a balanced diet despite her penchant for sugary treats and that she picks water or a strong mug of tea over alcohol.
“My body is a finely tuned instrument, I can tell what I want to be eating,” she said.
She said that Britons 'eat too much sugar', but denied any intention of beginning a Jamie Oliver-like crusade to improve the nation’s diet.
“I’m a pretty shambolic person. I don’t have the qualifications to say to people, ‘You can’t eat that, you can’t eat this.’ I’m not in a position to preach anything to anyone else.”
(Sean Dempsey/PA)
The 'domestic goddess' claimed that she had been misrepresented in previous series of her TV shows with her saucy approach to food, with plenty of finger licking and pasta slurping.
“My family wouldn’t recognise that version of me. And people think I do double entendres most of the time. Usually I don’t even understand what they’re talking about,” she said.
