Paul McCartney had macaroni cheese for Christmas dinner

Sir Paul McCartney once had macaroni cheese for Christmas dinner.

The former Beatles star – whose late wife Linda McCartney was a famous vegetarian and launched a range of meat-free products and recipe books – revealed how his family coped without turkey for their festive meal when they first stopped meat in the 70s.

He said: "We had all the trimmings but we needed something to simulate the turkey. So Linda made macaroni cheese. It was good, then she let it stand so it went solid and I was able to slice it.

"It kind of worked so we called it the macaroni turkey."

However, the 66-year-old singer – who lost his wife to breast cancer in 1998 – admitted he now opts for a meat-substitute dish from Linda's range.

He added: "Today we've moved on and you can buy the Linda McCartney roast."

Paul is now dating businesswoman Nancy Shevell, 47, following his bitter divorce from Heather Mills in March.