Name: Janet Street-Porter.
Age: 72.
Appearance: Striking.
I know who you mean. There’s only one Janet Street-Porter. But what a varied CV: producer, editor, author, broadcaster, journalist …
I’m aware … committed rambler, roadkill enthusiast, Loose Women regular …
Wait. What was that? You know, that ITV daytime show; they talk about the royals, cellulite, that kind of thing.
No, before that: roadkill enthusiast?! Indeed.
You mean she enjoys hitting animals with her car? No, but if someone else happens to, she gets pretty excited.
Why? Because it means supper is sorted.
I am not sure I would have much of an appetite after seeing a dead animal. Street-Porter is made of stronger stuff, as she has explained to her fellow Loose Women.
She did not. She said: “If you see a deer by the side of the road that’s been hit by a lorry or another car, what are you gonna do?”
I’m going to not eat it. “Venison is a free-range meat that lives on grain and I think you’ll find it’s very healthy,” she added.
What did the other Loose Women think? They were shocked, but they shouldn’t have been. Street-Porter had previously revealed her diet in a newspaper column in June. “I’m a convert to roadkill cuisine,” she wrote, “and I can’t wait to try the deer I found on the A1.”
How do you even cook a dead deer? Don’t you have to get its outside off first? According to Street-Porter, her partner found a tutorial on YouTube.
Can you name any other roadkill-eating celebrities? It’s not as common as you might think.
I didn’t imagine it was very common at all. In that case it’s exactly as common as you think: wildlife presenter Chris Packham collects roadkill, but only to feed to foxes; Phillip Schofield once ate a road-killed fox on This Morning, but there’s no suggestion he’s stuck with the practice.
Not quite a trend, then. Not yet, but roadkill is considered by many to be a guilt-free addition to an otherwise vegan diet.
What else is good, besides deer and foxes? Pheasant, squirrel, hedgehog, weasel, badger – it’s all fair game, as long as it was dead when you got there.
Do say: “Here’s a little delicacy from my favourite stretch of the M6.”
Don’t say: “Could you do me a favour and run over this hedgehog for me?”
