Nigella Lawson has said her only desire during the trial of her and ex-husband Charles Saatchi's personal assistants was to protect her children but 'alas I couldn't always do'.
The mother-of-two appeared on US TV show Good Morning America to promote her new show, but was also asked about the court case, which saw her face allegations of drug-taking.
Asked what it was like to be a witness in the trial of Elisabetta and Francesca Grillo, who were acquitted, Nigella told the programme: "I can't really remember exactly because you're so focused on answering the questions to the best of your ability that actually you don't really have an enormous awareness of yourself.
"Maybe that's a good thing. My only desire really was to protect my children as much as possible which... alas I couldn't always do."
Nigella added that having details of her acrimonious split from millionaire art dealer Saatchi talked about in court under the glare of the world's media was 'mortifying'.
"To have not only your private life but distortions of your private life put on display is mortifying, but there are people going through an awful lot worse and to dwell on any of it would be self pity and I don't like to do that," she said.
But she said that she was looking towards the future.
"Actually since then I've eaten a lot of chocolate, had a very good Christmas and am into the New Year," the food writer added.
Nigella also commented on the fact that as a witness she was not able to have a lawyer defend her in court, unlike the two defendants on trial.
"It's one of the niceties of the English legal system that you're not allowed any counsel if you're a witness but maybe that will change, maybe that's good," she said.
Nigella admitted during the trial that she took cocaine with her late husband John Diamond when he found out he had terminal cancer, and in 2010 when she claimed she was being 'subjected to intimate terrorism' by Saatchi.
Police are to review her admission that she took the class A drug.
The self-styled 'domestic goddess' was appearing on the breakfast show to talk about The Taste, which is also being broadcast in the UK on Channel 4 and has been described as MasterChef meets The Voice.
http://youtube.com/v/GaBGK8tK_Tg
