Saturday Kitchen fans were left feeling sympathy for presenter Matt Tebbutt after he found himself in an uncomfortable situation when guest Diane Morgan gave a lukewarm response to his plant-based cheesecake.
The 51-year-old host had prepared the vegan dessert specially for the Motherland and Cunk on Earth star, who appeared on the BBC cooking programme to promote the fourth series of her comedy show, Mandy.
Morgan, who is known for her awkward comedy style and even admitted during the demonstration that she enjoys “awkward silences”, delivered a number of abrupt answers and responses throughout.
But one particularly awkward moment unfolded when Morgan tasted the cheesecake and offered a rather hesitant response.
“Yeah, it’s nice,” Morgan said in response to Tebbutt’s enquiry about the dish, before she sniggered to herself, prompting laughter in the studio.
Tebbutt had earlier praised the dessert, gesturing to Morgan’s fellow guests, Helen McGinn and chefs Hasan Semay and Luke Holder, and saying: “It’s delicious… We ate it in rehearsal and it’s really, really good.”
The cheesecake featured tofu instead of mascarpone, mixed with corn flour, lemon zest, vegan cream, and vanilla, with coconut oil replacing butter in the biscuit base.
Following Morgan’s blunt response, Tebbutt quipped: “You can’t be that fussy,” causing the studio to erupt in laughter before he quickly changed the subject.
Morgan had switched to a plant-based diet in January, telling Tebbutt: “I love a dessert, and it’s very difficult to get a good plant-based dessert.”
The awkwardness continued later in the programme when Morgan tried plant-based mochi and remarked: “No offence to the cheesecake, but this is delicious.”
In contrast, McGinn had praised the vegan cheesecake, saying: “I would not have guessed. It’s absolutely delicious.”
Following the interaction, social media soon became awash with viewers’ reactions, with many feeling Morgan was “rude” and “didn’t want to be” on the show, despite it being to promote her new BBC series.
One X user hit out: “#SaturdayKitchen can’t stand Diane Morgan, rude, she just comes across she don’t want to be there, she has no enthusiasm, spoiling the show for me.”
“#SaturdayKitchen Diane Morgan could’ve been a bit nicer about the dessert,” a second added before a third fumed: “I really like Diane but she doesn’t seem to want to be on this show xx #saturdaykitchen.”
Elsewhere, a fourth hit out: “Time and place for rude one liners and #SaturdayKitchen is not it. Diane Morgan coming across as rude.”
And a fifth simply put: “She doesn’t wanna be there can tell #saturdaykitchen.”
However, some viewers saw the funny side of Morgan’s antics and blunt conduct during her appearance on the show.
“Diane Morgan hates that cheesecake on #SaturdayKitchen. I love it when that happens,” one fan argued followed by laughing emojis.
While over on Instagram, a second echoed: “Great episode I love Diane Morgan. Hope the wines were vegan for her!” (sic)
