Nigella Lawson reveals why she will not be cooking turkey this Christmas

Celebrity chef Nigella Lawson has said that "for the first time ever" she will not cook a Christmas turkey this year.

Instead, she told the BBC's Newscast podcast, she would be cooking pork.

While restrictions have been eased for some parts of the UK over Christmas, millions of people will not be allowed to see their loved ones.

And Lawson, 60, said she felt following a traditional path while not having "a family Christmas" would make her "feel what's missing".

"I actually - and I only made the decision a couple of days ago - for the first time ever, I am not going to do a turkey - and I always do," she said.

"I'm doing pork.

"It's not going to be a normal family Christmas, therefore I think I will feel less sad doing something that is just a lovely lunch, that takes in a few Christmas traditions from elsewhere that interest me, but [does] not... make me feel what's missing."

She added: "One of the things I think we've all realised is how we miss having people round our table, and therefore all that worrying over 'is this perfect, should we do this or that', you realise that is actually secondary to the feeling of eating with other people."

However, Lawson believes many people will see things differently.

"I would have thought, for many people, the strange conditions under which we live will make them want to cleave to the traditions, and not add new and different things," she said.

The former journalist also revealed that, despite the difficulties of social distancing, she had coped well during the pandemic.

Asked about spending time by herself, she said: "I haven't been lonely once.

"I have been very happy. I'm almost afraid to say it as it makes me sound pathologically unsociable, but I've rather enjoyed it."