MasterChef star Gregg Wallace has been given a cheeky ear-bashing from his mum – after branding her food "rubbish" on the popular cookery show.

Bubbly Mary Pettman, 68, said she laughed off the jibe after tuning into the series opener to watch her dessert-loving son, who lives in Seasalter.

Speaking from her home in Wynn Road, Whitstable, Mary (pictured right) said: "When he said it I burst out laughing. I said to my husband Bob 'that's him disinherited'.

"He was actually at my house for Christmas dinner this year... and he thoroughly enjoyed it!

"He does put his money where his mouth is when it comes to cooking though – otherwise I would've pulled him up on it.

"He made us this beautiful cranachan once with oats and creams and raspberries. I thought I can't possibly eat all that and then it just disappeared. It was delicious."

Mother-of-three Mary said Gregg's tastebuds were somewhat less refined as a boy – with his favourite treats including a sandwich with ketchup on one side and brown sauce the other.

She said: "I just used to cook the usual things like burgers and chips, but also made a nice shepherd's pie and beef stew. It was just ordinary stuff.

"Gregg's absolute favourite was packs of Angel Delight. He loved it. It might be where he gets his taste for sweets.

"The strangest thing though was his love of a sauce sandwich. He used to have HP sauce on one side and ketchup on the other.

"He also loved a steak, but we didn’t have it very often because in those days everybody was a bit hard-up. He's always loved his food."

Bob, 69, also backed his wife's cooking.

"There are no complaints from me, but I have put on some weight," he said.

"We've got liver and bacon tonight and she does a nice curry."

More than four million people tuned in to the first programme of the new MasterChef series on Tuesday night, when 48-year-old Gregg, pictured right, made the comment about his mum.

A contestant said: "If I have a choice of going to a restaurant or my mum's for food, I’ll go to mum's.

"It's like going to the best restaurant in the world."

But father-of-two Gregg, who is dating Anne-Marie Sterpini, in her 20s, replied: "My mum's food was rubbish."