Simon Rimmer apologises to vegan Jon Richardson after feeding him an animal product

Sunday Brunch host Simon Rimmer was forced to issue a apology to Jon Richardson after accidentally serving the vegan comedian a dish made with an animal product on the programme.

Richardson appeared on the Channel 4 show on Sunday morning where guest chef Asma Khan prepared a Masoor dahl.

While the original dish was made with prawns, Rimmer served the 37-year-old a portion that did not contain the seafood but had been made with ghee - a form of clarified butter commonly used in Indian cooking.

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Returning after an ad break the presenter issued a light-hearted apology acknowledging his mistake to the comic, who appeared to take it in good humour.

He said: “Earlier on in the previous cooking item, I may have informed guests that the dhal was in fact vegan. It was, of course, ghee used in the recipe, which isn’t vegan.

“I allowed Jon Richardson, who is indeed a vegan, to eat some of it.

“On behalf of myself and the Sunday Brunch team, I would like to sincerely apologise and hope I haven’t offended you and spoiled your life.”

"When I’m sick during my interview, you can take responsibility for that," Richardson joked in response before noting that the dish could be vegan if a vegan spread were used instead of ghee.

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Richardson was on the show with wife Lucy Beaumont, who quipped that Richardson had eaten a halloumi burger in recent weeks.

The pair were promoting their new show, Meet the Richardsons, which sees them star as exaggerated versions of themselves.