Jamie Oliver offered role in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies by Peter Jackson

Would the TV chef have made a 'pukka' hobbit?

Jamie Oliver (Getty Images)

It sounds like a recipe for disaster. But luckily for him TV chef Jamie Oliver turned down the chance to play a hobbit in Peter Jackson’s screen adaptation of Tolkien’s tale.

The naked chef said he was asked to cook at the director's 50th birthday party and was offered the role in exchange for the honour.

Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins (Warner Bros)

But Oliver said that despite looking forward to the prospect of taking his costume home to impress wife Jools, he had to reject Jackson’s offer as he had work commitments.

He spoke about the missed opportunity while filming his new Channel 4 series with pal Jimmy Doherty, Jamie And Jimmy's Friday Night Feast.

While chatting with guest Kate Hudson about parts she has missed out on, Oliver explained: "The worst thing that happened to me was that I got phoned up by the exec producer and asked did I want to go and cook for Peter Jackson's birthday, the big birthday.

"And if I did, they would fly me over and I could be a hobbit in the film. But I was working, I couldn't get out of it. I really wanted to do it, I would have got right into it as well, I would have taken the costume home and said 'Jools, let's make love!’."

The first edition of the six-part series - filmed in a pop-up cafe on Southend pier - is to be screened on January 2. Other guests in later weeks include Hugh Bonneville, Ellie Goulding, Tinie Tempah, Michael Sheen and Paloma Faith.

Additional reporting by PA