Nigella Lawson, the celebrity television chef, is reported to have saved the Oxford student magazine that helped to set her on a career in journalism.

Miss Lawson, pictured, heard about the financial problems facing Isis after a visit to the city to see the Tracey Emin exhibition.

The self-styled 'domestic goddess' edited Isis during her time as an undergraduate at Oxford University, where she read Modern Languages.

She was spotted by the magazine's culture section editor, Phil Oltermann, at Modern Art Oxford, with her partner Charles Saatchi.

Mr Oltermann told The Oxford Student: "I remembered that Nigella used to edit the magazine and so I thought I might give it a go and contact her, to see whether she would like to sponsor the next issue of Isis.

"To everyone's surprise she e-mailed back the next day and kindly offered to send a cheque for the entire production cost."

Nigella wrote that she "would be very happy to give Isis a cheque for £1,300 to keep it afloat".

The award-winning magazine had faced the prospect of not having enough money to produce an issue this term.