Helen Skelton has revealed she unwittingly ate a guinea pig while filming in Peru.
In South America, Cuy al Horno (baked Guinea pig) is a traditional dish and the TV star, 40, admitted that during a charity trip in 2011, she tucked in to the food – and even picked which of the ‘cute’ rodents she would be eating.
Speaking on Mark Wogan’s Spooning With Mark Wogan Podcast, she said: ‘So we went to this place in the middle of nowhere, it went out and there’s a big garden and there was all these hutches and they were showing me around…
‘They’re showing me all these hutches and I was like, oh that’s cute. It’s guinea pigs. Obviously it was a bit of a language and a cultural barrier, but I was enthusiastic because they were proud and I was being respectful…
‘I thought they were just showing me their guinea pigs. I didn’t realise that I was picking my lunch. So the one that I thought was cute was then spatchcocked and deep fried… . It still had claws. With coleslaw.’
Helen Skelton has revealed she unwittingly ate a guinea pig while filming in Peru
In South America, Cuy al Horno (baked Guinea pig) is a traditional dish and the TV star, 40, admitted that during a charity trip in 2011, she tucked in to the food – and even picked which of the ‘cute’ rodents she would be eating
Discussing the trip and culture differences, Helen detailed: ‘So I went to Peru and did a lot of filming with some wonderful charities who were educating children who worked on rubbish dumps, who basically went out every day…
‘Scavenging for bits, take them back, clean them, sell them. And so the charity were trying to get them into schools and they were showing us their wonderful work and as part of showing us what happened they took us out for lunch.’
It was then she came across the delicacy, saying: ‘So we went to this place in the middle of nowhere, it went out and there’s a big garden and there was all these hutches and they were showing me around…
‘They’re showing me all these hutches and I was like, oh that’s cute. It’s guinea pigs. Obviously it was a bit of a language and a cultural barrier, but I was enthusiastic because they were proud and I was being respectful.
‘I thought they were just showing me their guinea pigs. I didn’t realise that I was picking my lunch. So the one that I thought was cute was then spatchcocked and deep fried. Obviously I’ve been very lucky that I’ve filmed in loads of random places..
‘They are so culturally different. I can’t say that’s wrong, that’s their world. And they were so proud because it was a delicacy and they presented it to me. It still had claws. With coleslaw.’
Chronicling the rest of the meal, she said: ‘It was a delicacy. They were really proud. That was like, they’d gone all out and I was just like, and then we had this person with us who was a sort of like a fixer and translating and he’s just looking at me…
‘He’s like this is really important to them and I was like okay It’s one of those things. I’m an animal lover and it’s one of those things that I will take with me to my grave.’
Speaking on Mark Wogan’s Spooning With Mark Wogan Podcast, she said: ‘So we went to this place in the middle of nowhere, it went out and there’s a big garden and there was all these hutches and they were showing me around…
Her latest chat comes after Helen was seen for the first time since she officially divorced her ex-husband Richie Myler . The BBC Morning Live presenter, 40, departed the studios in Manchester with a beaming smile on her face
Her latest chat comes after Helen was seen for the first time since she officially divorced her ex-husband Richie Myler. The BBC Morning Live presenter, 40, departed the studios in Manchester with a beaming smile on her face.
exclusively revealed the Strictly star and her rugby ace ex, 33, who filed for divorce from their 10-year marriage almost two years ago, are legally divorced.
Helen and Richie, who share three children together, wed in 2013 and separated in April 2022, with Helen announcing on her Instagram profile that her husband had left the family home.
Richie is now in a relationship with Stephanie Thirkill, 33, who is the daughter of Leeds Rhinos president Andrew Thirkill, the rugby club he played for from 2017 until last year.
The couple started dating shortly after Helen and Richie split and 12 months later, welcomed their first baby together.
A source told : ‘Helen and Richie are legally divorced. Their marriage was declared over at the end of December, so finally both parties can move on and start the New Year afresh.’
The couple’s divorce comes three months after Richie accused Helen of ‘dragging her heels over proceedings’ and ‘preventing him from moving forward with his life.’
exclusively revealed last week that the Strictly star and her rugby ace ex, who filed for divorce from their 10-year marriage almost two years ago, are legally divorced