CELEBRITY chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has been getting his hands dirty in Weymouth for his latest television series.

The River Cottage chef was spotted in the unlikely destination of a muddy culvert by the side of the Preston Beach Road as he went on the hunt for secret culinary delights.

A River Cottage spokesman said Mr Fearnley-Whittingstall, who made headlines earlier this year when he took on supermarket giant Tesco over the welfare of its chickens, was in the area with expert forager John Wright.

She said the footage would be screened in Mr Fearnley-Whittingstall’s new series that will be screened for four weeks from June 4.

The spokesman added: “Hugh was filming for a new series of River Cottage called River Cottage Spring, which will be coming out in June.

“As usual, Hugh will rustle up a range of impressive dishes, using the finest seasonal food from the wild and the garden.

“With penny-saving at the forefront of everyone’s minds, the series features a brand new ‘leftovers’ strand in which Hugh demonstrates that a little imagination and planning can transform yesterday’s dinner into fresh, tasty meals.”

The eccentric cook is a regular visitor to Weymouth and also filmed in the resort last year for his River Cottage Spring series when he went out fishing for mackerel in the area.

His River Cottage HQ was originally based in Dorset, but he has since relocated just across the Devon border.