Nigella’s iconic ‘microwave’ moment nominated for an actual BAFTA

'Mee-cro-wah-vay'

Nigella Lawson

by Bonnie McLaren |
Updated on

Last year, one of the weirdest moments we've ever witnessed on British TV happened. And that's really saying something.

In case you need a reminder, during an episode of Nigella's Cook, Eat, Repeat, our favourite food writer, Nigella Lawson, pronounced 'microwave' as 'mee-cro-wa-vay'. Yes, 'mee-cro-wa-vay'.

Cue internet meltdown and hundreds of memes. Nigella herself even retweeted this hilarious meme of an imaginary IKEA x Nigella collaboration.

But now, months later, the infamous pronunciation been nominated for a BAFTA. Yep, you heard us right - Nigella's microwave moment has been listed as one of the must watch moments of the past year. In the Virgin Media Must-See Moment award - which you can vote for here - the cook is up against Gogglebox's reaction to one of Boris Johnson's Covid press conferences, Diversity's BGT dance routine, which was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement and (spoiler alert) when Penelope is revealed as Lady Whistledown on Bridgerton.

Anyway, if you haven't heard it already - let's face it, you probably already have - here's a clip of Nigella saying it below.

But, the question remains, why on Earth is she pronouncing it like that? Anyway, we were desperate to know. So Grazia did some investigating, speaking to someone in the know about the unusual pronunciation. And it is, they say, a 'long-standing inside joke' within the family.

Ah - that makes a lot of sense now. Dinner must be fun at the Lawsons; we wonder if there's any other words they spectacularly mispronounce?

Check out: the Love Island 2021 rumoured line-up

Gallery

Love Island 2021 rumoured cast

Love Island 2021 cast1 of 10
CREDIT: Instagram

Harley Benn

Harley Benn, the son of boxing legend Nigel, is the first name rumoured to have signed up for Love Island 2021.

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CREDIT: Instagram

Alexis Bailey

It's thought Harley will be joined by fire-eating beauty queen Alexis Bailey, who has previously worked with Wayne Lineker in Ibiza.

Love Island 2021 cast3 of 10
CREDIT: Instagram

James Price

Another name to be linked to Love Island 2021 is Worcester-based recruitment consultant James Price. He has history with 2019 Islander Lucie Donlan, having reportedly tried to crack on with her before she entered the villa.

Love Island 2021 cast4 of 10
CREDIT: Instagram

Toluwa Adepeju

Following in the footsteps of Dr Alex George before him, junior doctor Toluwa Adepeju is rumoured to have signed up to enter the villa later this year.

Love Island 2021 cast5 of 10
CREDIT: Instagram

Holly Ramsay

The Love Island villa is no stranger to celeb relatives, with the likes of Dani Dyer and Curtis Pritchard appearing in previous series. The latest famous offspring rumoured to join the cast is Gordon Ramsay's daughter Holly, although she shot down the rumours on her Instagram stories.

Love Island 2021 cast6 of 10
CREDIT: Instagram

Ellis Iyayi

Ellis was first rumoured to be entering the Love Island villa during the first ever winter edition, which took place in South Africa at the start of 2020. While he didn't end up joining the cast, there is speculation producers could be sending him in this summer.

Love Island 2021 cast7 of 10
CREDIT: Instagram

Jay Munro

Like Ellis, Jay has been rumoured for Love Island before - could this be the year he finally makes the cut? The former footballer went viral as "the hot door pusher" on The Voice Australia and is already pals with the likes of Jack Fowler and Josh Denzel.

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CREDIT: Instagram

Alisha LeMay

Instagram influencer Alisha has already amassed 162k followers and recently released a collection with Miss Pap, but could she boost her profile even more by appearing on Love Island? She was rumoured to be taking part in the first ever winter edition last year and although she didn't make it into the villa, it's claimed she could join the cast of the next series.

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CREDIT: Instagram

Aimee-Rose Francis

Another name rumoured to be entering the villa this summer is Chelsea-based fashion blogger and influencer Aimee-Rose Francis, who has a degree from Kings College London and lives a "very fortunate" jetset lifestyle.

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CREDIT: Instagram

Lucinda Strafford

It's claimed that former air hostess Lucinda has been approached by Love Island producers before and reportedly decided to sign up to the show after being made redundant from her British Airways job.

Nigella herself did also confirm that she knows how to pronounce microwave, replying to someone who asked 'if she really pronounced it like that'. 'Well, I do say it like that,' she tweeted, 'but not because I think that’s how it’s actually pronounced.'

It's not the first time the programme has driven Twitter wild. Last year Nigella also caused controversy by revealing that she butters her toast not once, but twice. When the bread is still hot from the toaster, she slathers on one layer of unsalted butter, and then, once it’s cooled down, she adds another layer, followed by a sprinkle of salt. As you do, when you're casually making toast.

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