Nigella Lawson has explained that her unusual pronunciation of the word "microwave" was just "a camp joke".

During the latest episode of her BBC Two series Nigella's Cook, Eat, Repeat, the cook pronounced the word as "mee-crow-wah-vay", confusing many fans, who tweeted her to ask for an explanation.

Replying to one fan telling her the correct way to say the word, she replied: "I know. On purpose."

She added to another: "Well, I do say it like that, but not because that's how I think it's actually pronounced. I don't know. A camp joke that becomes habit."

A spokesperson for Lawson told The Mirror: "In a nutshell, it's how Nigella refers to the microwave at home. It's a bit of a family joke."

Nigella's Cook, Eat, Repeat continues next Monday at 8pm on BBC Two with dishes including crab mac 'n' cheese, 'mine-all-mine' chocolate cookies and her mother's praised chicken.