Henry VIII had a taste for it but bird only became Christmas fave in the 50s

■ The turkey became part of our Christmas tradition thanks to Henry VIII. It replaced peacocks on the table at court.

■ Bronze is the original breed colour but in the 1950s all turkeys were bred to have white feathers as they were considered to be more attractive.

■ It was not until the 1950s that turkey was widely eaten at Christmas, however in 1930 it took about a week’s wages for the average family to buy one bird.

■ At least 76% of British homes will stick to the traditional meat on the Christmas dinner table.

■ Approximately 10 million turkeys are eaten in the UK every Christmas.

■ Breeder Paul Kelly has the record for carving one (3 mins 19.47 secs), and is the fastest to pluck three (11 mins 30.16 secs).