SIR MICHAEL PARKINSON

says turkey is off his Christmas menu at home as he can’t stand the clucking bird.

The chat show host, 80, says the dish will have no place on his table and instead he’ll be carving into a tasty joint for the holidays. Sir Michael said: “I hate turkey. Pork is the perfect Christmas dish – loin of pork with crispy skin and apple sauce.” Recalling his younger days in Yorkshire, he added: “We used to club together, about eight of us, to buy this pig and we used to keep it in a next- door neighbour’s garage all year and feed it with potato peelings and all that.”

However, if you head to Sir Michael’s Michelin- star restaurant, The Royal Oak near Maidenhead in Berkshire, you will find a “Butter Poached Holly Farm Turkey with Cranberry Sauce” which forms part of the £ 35 Christmas menu. Just don’t expect him to join you!