She is a household name, with her recipe books selling millions of copies worldwide.

But Nigella Lawson has spoken out saying that she was “astonished” to be told of the reputation she had with TV viewers, who for years have commented on the innuendos apparently sprinkled among her cooking shows.

Lines like “"They’re like the lightest, most fluttering caresses in the mouth”, and “"I don’t believe in guilty pleasures. I think the only thing people should feel guilty about is not having pleasure," caused a stir among her many fans.

But the star told an audience at the Oxford literary festival: “When that first series came out I was astonished to be told I was suggestive and coquettish and so forth because the reality is I’m a straightforward person.”

“I’ll do something and people will say it’s rude or a double entendre and I feel like saying ‘well, can you please explain it to me, I don’t get it?’”

She said that much of that depiction of her was down to the way her shows were edited, explaining: “it’s an editor’s medium, so obviously how you put something together will reinforce that.”