Saturday Kitchen host forced to issue apology after vegetarian blunder

Saturday Kitchen host Matt Tebbutt was quick to apologise after an awkward blunder with a vegetarian guest on Saturday's episode (October 5).

Matt was joined on the programme by chef Theo Randall, actress Michelle Keegan and Mary McCartney, a vegetarian cookbook author and daughter of Beatles legend, Paul McCartney. Wine expert Olly Smith was also on hand to pair the dishes with the perfect drink.

The blunder came just moments into the programme, as Matt and Theo cooked up a mussel and tagliatelle dish in the kitchen.

As the conversation turned to the versatility of mussels, Matt turned to Mary and quizzed her on her stance on the seafood, appearing to forget she didn't eat meat or fish.

"Mary, where do you stand on a mussel?" he asked. "I don't eat them..." she began, looking uncomfortable, as Matt quickly interjected: "Being a vegetarian."

"I don't eat them," she said again. "We have had debates in the past of the fact they don't have a brain or a nervous system, I don't think."

"Right," Matt said awkwardly as he continued to cook, with Mary once again reiterating: "I don't eat them."

Apologising for the awkward exchange, Matt said "Sorry" and continued his chopping, with Mary swiftly turning the questioning back onto him. "How do you feel about them?" she asked with a smile, as Matt gushed that he was "very into mussels."

The exchange didn't go unnoticed by viewers. Taking to X, formerly Twitter, one fan of the show joked: "How'd the show go today, Matt? 'Well, I asked Mary McCartney if she liked mussels or not; that went well'."

While Mary is a photographer by profession, the 55-year-old has authored multiple cookbooks and is a high-profile vegetarian. She co-founded the global vegetarian movement, Meat Free Monday, with her father and sister, while her mother, Linda McCartney, created one of the world's first meat-free brands with Linda McCartney Food back in 1991.

Saturday Kitchen airs on BBC One on Saturdays from 10am