British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver turned down the chance to make a cameo appearance in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy because he was too busy.

The Tv cookery expert was asked to play one of the pint-sized people in the fantasy film series in 2011 in exchange for catering the director's 50th birthday party in New Zealand, but Oliver had to turn the job down due to other commitments.

During an episode of his Tv show Jamie and Jimmy's Friday Night Feast, Oliver reveals, "The worst thing that happened to me was that I got phoned up by the exec (sic) producer and asked did I want to go and cook for Peter Jackson's birthday?... And if I did, they would fly me over and I could be a hobbit in the film... but I was working, I just couldn't get out of it.

"I really wanted to do it and would have got right into it - I would have taken the costume home and said (to his wife), 'Jools, let's make love!'"