Ben Miller claimed the ‘obscenely expensive’ price of a popular festive treat has ‘ruined’ Christmas for him.

The Bridgerton star fumed about the price of a Dolce and Gabbana panettone on the latest episode of Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch.

Hosts Tim Lovejoy and Simon Rimmer welcomed Ben to the show alongside fellow guests Samara Joy, Nina Wadia, Gregor Fisher, Ben Hardy, and Elmiene.

Tim set Ben off when he said: ‘We heard you paid an obscene amount of money for some bread this week.’ 

The 58-year-old rolled his eyes as he recalled his expensive visit to a Christmas fair.

Tim asked: ‘Do you love them?’

Ben Miller claimed the ‘obscenely expensive’ price of a popular festive treat has ‘ruined’ Christmas for him

Ben Miller as his character Lord Featherington in the popular Netflix period drama Bridgerton

To which Ben replied: ‘I do actually genuinely love a Christmas fair. A great way to get in the mood for Christmas.’

But the price of a designer panettone which he purchased for his brother-in-law marred the festive experience for the actor.

‘Saw a panettone and thought, “I’ll get that for my brother-in-law'”. Can you guess how much it cost?’, he asked the others.

Tim responded: ‘I know, so I can’t guess. Ask the international celebrities!’

The first guess was a meagre £7, but Gregor escalated it to £25 after Ben described the expensive treat.

‘You’ve got to factor in the tin, a nice tin. Panettone, tin, hazlenut, chocolate,’ Ben hinted.

Nina upped the estimate to £35, but Ben confirmed that it was even pricier. 

Gregor hit back with a new guess of £50, only for Ben indicate that it was still a higher sum.

Luxury Italian designer Dolce and Gabbana have released a series of panettone’s for Christmas in tins covered in their classic designs

’60 quid!’, he finally admitted.

‘At that point I didn’t know what to do! I felt like I was on the spot,’ he said before admitting to caving in and paying for it.

Tim teased Ben, suggesting the vendor upped the price due to his celebrity status.

‘They were thinking, “It’s Ben Miller off the telly!”‘

Ben replied: ‘Exactly! Exactly! I’m exposed! I felt I couldn’t let them down. I couldn’t back out.’

‘But I’m seething. It’s ruined Christmas for me! Nobody’s getting anything,’ he joked.

Ben finally admitted the brand of the traditional Italian cake when Tim asked: ‘What was so special about it, did they say?’  

‘It’s Dolce and Gabbana. I thought it said Dolce and Gobbana, like it was a joke. No, it was actually by Dolce and Gabbana, so 60 quid,’ he confessed.

The lighthearted episode comes after the chat show was hit with complaints when viewers were left disappointed by the previous episode, branding it ‘unfunny’ after noticing a huge change.

Fans of the daytime programme were reacting to a change in the line-up, which included a larger than normal panel of guests.

The weekend show was hosted by Tim Lovejoy and Simon Rimmer, but joining the duo were a host of famous faces.

However, despite the variety of guests, fans of the show were frustrated by the supersized crew, which included Alfie Boe, Michael Ball, Katherine Ryan, Nick Mohammed, Leomie Anderson, Jake Shears and Maverick Sabre.

Viewers were quick to complain that there were too many guests, with many moaning that it made the show slow and boring.

Sunday Brunch airs Sundays from 9.30am on Channel 4.