Television chef Rachel Khoo has admitted she would be unlikely to have her own show if she were ugly.
The cook, whose BBC series The Little Paris Kitchen was a surprise hit, said there was a “pathetic” lack of female cooks with prime-time programmes.
Khoo, 33, who grew up in Croydon but moved to Paris in her 20s to study pastry, told the Radio Times: “You are also up against a lot of things as a woman. Last time there was a fat woman chef was the Two Fat Ladies … and they called them Two Fat Ladies! There are male chefs who are bigger, but they don't call them fat.
She added: "As a woman you have to tick all these boxes to be able to be on TV.
“I know I look a certain way and that’s partly why I’m on TV. If I were really ugly and fat, I don’t think I’d have the same chance.”
She said the only female chefs to be given good amounts of airtime were Great British Bake Off star Mary Berry, Lorraine Pascal and Nigella Lawson.
"It's great that Mary Berry got a primetime TV show, but I don't think there are enough women chefs on TV.
"I think they should give an opportunity to others. I mean otherwise it's Lorraine and Nigella. It's pathetic."
