Aiming for the top: Ritchie and Vinnie Jones

Ritchie said he tried to get permission to use it for free.

"I thought I was going to get it for free, but I didn't. She hurt us for it," he said.

Calling himself a "big fan" he explained that the song was not the original choice for the scene.

"It was a last-minute decision. The track we had down was Boney M, but it wasn't a track I was particularly keen on. I wanted something retro," he said.

Ritchie wouldn't be drawn into saying whether he would make a film with his pop star girlfriend.

"If she plays her cards right," he joked.

Gangster films

Ritchie said he move away from gangster films in his next project, but he still relishes the gory ingenuity of the underworld.

He said he carried out real research for a scene in which a man is devoured by pigs.

Apparently it takes 16 pigs about half-an-hour to get rid of a human body

Guy Ritchie

"Apparently it is the most efficient way of getting rid of a human body in the underworld. That's what I am told," he said.

"Apparently it takes 16 pigs about half-an-hour to get rid of a human body."

Ritchie confirmed that he was now "toying with" the idea of filming a 15th century medieval epic.

"It's an interesting idea - I also fancy getting away from the London low-life a bit," he added.

Snatch is released in the UK on 1 September.