Nigella as you’ve never seen her

The 54-year-old TV chef - known for her sexy image and flirtatious presenting style - has posed for the cover of British Vogue’s April issue in minimal make-up.

Nigella told the magazine: “I was terrified of being photographed without make-up, and I hate having my looks talked up. It always makes me feel I’m going to be a disappointment in the flesh.”

The mother-of-two is a long-time contributing editor to the magazine, having initially written a cookery column for Vogue since 1995.

Nigella has had a difficult time over the last year after her then husband, multi-millionaire art dealer Charles Saatchi, was pictured with his hands around her throat outside a London restaurant, leading to their divorce.

Months later her personal life was exposed and she was forced to admit to drug use during a trial involving two of her personal assistants, Italian-born sisters Elisabetta and Francesca Grillo.

Nigella revealed her plans for the future involve branching out from food writing and TV presenting.

She said: “I love what I do, but there are other parts of my brain that I haven’t flexed in a professional way. I do sometimes think that I’ve let the more analytical part of my brain slump slightly. I do like writing about food, but there’s so much that interests me...

“I’ve been working - in a cottage-industry way - on an app, which, if it works, could be deeply thrilling.”