Hobbit star Martin Freeman reveals why he has quit being a vegetarian after 38 years

The Sherlock, The Office and The Hobbit actor, 52, says he opted out of consuming meat as a teenager because he was “never comfortable” with eating animals.

He changed his mind however after becoming concerned that meat replacements are “very, very processed” and that the switch has enabled him to enjoy having “what I like”.

Speaking to Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett on their Dish podcast while tucking into an Italian bolognese, he explained: “I've come off being a vegetarian. I started being a vegetarian in like January 1986.

“I was never comfortable with the idea of eating animals. So I've not had a really good bolognese since then - my mum was a pretty good cook.

“So this is the first proper bolognese maybe I've ever had for 38 years...”

Discussing the substitutes available, he added: “So I always had veggie stuff - it's really lovely. But I always had veggie sort of replacements and stuff.

“I think in the last several months, it's really new going back to being an omnivore, just sort of eating what I like.

“It's a funny one, because I like meat replacement things, but my reservation about them is that they can be very, very processed and I'm trying to eat less processed food.”

The Hampshire-born actor went on to admit that he had missed out on the “good, honest staple” of dishes such as bolognese for “decades”.

Reflecting on what his taste buds have since been enjoying becoming reacquainted with, he said: “Scotch egg was one of the things, I thought, ‘It's a free country, I can do what I like’.

“And also, do you know the other thing - a pork pie with the jelly and all that s***.

“A bit of mustard on a pork pie - oh man. It's food of the gods,” he declared.