The boss of McDonald's has issued a major update on their menus, including the roll out of their breakfast offering, plus the popular Monopoly game.

It comes more than 100 days after the fast-food chain took action to temporarily close their doors across the UK.

They have since returned with a phased reopening nationwide, initially for drive-thru and takeaway orders, including a limited menu.

Further updates have been released by the company since then, and last month McDonald's launched a slimmed down breakfast menu at a selected number of branches in the south of England as part of a trial.

Now - more details have emerged as to when fans can see more items on the menu, and the chain have broken their silence on when their annual Monopoly game will return.

What have McDonald's said?

McDonald’s UK and Ireland CEO Paul Pomroy said: "It’s been over 100 days since we temporarily closed our doors.

"In that time, we’ve donated over 500 tonnes of food to charities and food banks, distributed 100,000 litres of milk and supplies to key workers through charity partnerships with Food Drop and FareShare, and in the last 40 days, we have reopened over 1260 restaurants with tens of thousands of our employees returning to work.

"We are delighted to be back. We continue to see such a fantastic reaction from customers across the country, and we are so grateful to you all for the continued support.

"As our restaurant teams are settling into the new ways of working, we’ve been working hard to identify ways in which to extend our menu, operations and availability and today I am pleased to update you on a number of changes coming up this week and next.

"As ever, the safety of you and our employees comes first, so we are making gradual changes that we are confident still enable us to prioritise that safe working environment.

"Our ability to introduce some of these changes may also be impacted by factors specific to where certain restaurants operate. As always, we will continue to follow government guidelines."

When will more items be added to the main menu?

From 11am on Wednesday, July 8, some of the main menu items will return, as the chain slowly seeks to return to their full menu.

Next week, Shakes, Mayo Chicken, Bacon Mayo Chicken, Hot Chocolate and the Bacon Double Cheeseburger all rejoin the menu, with Happy Meal Organic Milk bottles also making a welcome return for our younger customers.

The McDonald's CEO added: "As we continue to adapt to the social distancing and safety measures in our kitchens and service areas, we will constantly review what we’re able to sell and hope to reintroduce more items later in the summer."

When will breakfast return nationwide?

Following a successful first week of the pilot, on Wednesday, July 8, the chain will extend breakfast service to more than 1,000 restaurants.

This will still be a limited menu, for now - no bagels, wraps or porridge, but as with the main menu, the company say they are working on returning popular missing items later in the year.

When will the opening hours change?

Hours will continue to vary and many restaurants will be opening slightly later than usual for now. Customers have been urged to download the My McDonald’s App or check on the restaurant locator on their website before they travel.

What is happening to this year's Monopoly game?

Mr Pomroy added: "We took the decision to close our restaurants shortly before this year’s Monopoly promotion was due to launch.

"We know many of you enjoy this promotion, which has run since 2005 in the UK.

"To enable safe working and social distancing inside our restaurants and to minimise the pressure on our employees, we have decided to cancel this year’s Monopoly VIP campaign.

"It creates a great deal of excitement inside our restaurants and relies heavily upon menu items we cannot safely reintroduce yet.

"Rest assured, we are already planning for Monopoly 2021 and hope to be able to bring this popular promotion back next Spring."

What else have they said?

The CEO added: "Now that we have successfully trialled longer hours and takeaway service in a number of our restaurants, I am very pleased to start extending these across the country.

"As with breakfast, this does mean hours and services in restaurants will vary.

"We’ll keep the app and website up to date as we gradually roll out takeaway service from Friday 3rd to Wednesday 8th July to more than 800 restaurants.

"Some restaurants will also start to serve later into the evening, returning to 24 hour service in some locations.

"We can only make all of these changes with thanks to the brilliant support of our franchisees, employees and suppliers and I am so proud of the way the McDonald’s system continues to pull together to return to the ‘new normal’. It has not been easy.

"We have all be affected differently over the last few months.

"But as we’ve switched the lights, grills and fryers back on, welcoming cars, couriers and customers through the doors and Drive Thrus, we have found a way to bring Big Macs and McMuffins back to as many of you as possible whilst still prioritising everybody’s safety and wellbeing.

"I want to thank our brilliant employees working hard across the country in challenging, busy and new circumstances.

"I also want to thank our world-class supply chain who have maintained the supply of the great quality ingredients used in our restaurants – from fresh buns and Organic British Milk to 100% British and Irish Beef and free-range eggs.

"And thank you to all of you. The warm welcome our restaurant teams are receiving as they return to work has been fantastic.

"We are pleased to be back. Your patience as we adjust to the safety measures and changes to our operations has helped us reintroduce things like Shakes and McMuffins faster than we thought possible.

"Of course, we still aren’t fully back to normal, we aren’t ready to enable dine-in just yet and we know there are a few favourites still missing from the menu.

"We’re working on it, but will only do so safely, when the time is right. In the meantime, we look forward to seeing you again soon."

Here is a reminder of the safety measures McDonald's have implemented:

For takeaway:

  • McDonald’s will provide clear signposting and floor-markings to create a one-way system around restaurants for customers and delivery partner couriers, where possible.
  • A limited number of people will be allowed inside restaurants to help customers and employees adhere to social distancing – this will vary depending upon the restaurant size and layout.
  • Customers will be welcomed inside when a space becomes available and will be asked to sanitise their hands at cleaning stations that have been introduced in all restaurants.
  • There will be fewer self-order screens switched on and those in use will be sanitised at least every 30 minutes. Customers can also order via the My McDonald’s app
  • Customers are encouraged to visit alone to collect their food where possible. For those visiting with children, play areas and digital play areas will remain closed.
  • Restaurant seating areas, customer toilets and lifts will remain closed.
  • With dining areas closed, recycling points will also remain closed. The large majority of McDonald’s packaging can be recycled, and customers are encouraged to dispose of their litter responsibly and recycle wherever possible when they get home.
  • To help protect employees and other customers, McDonald’s asks their customers not to visit if they feel unwell.

These measures are on top of those already introduced to reopened Drive-thru and McDelivery restaurants:

  • Perspex screens have been installed in the kitchens, service areas and Drive-thru windows and additional protective equipment has been provided for restaurant teams, including disposable gloves for people in customer and courier facing positions and face coverings.
  • Restaurants will return with fewer people on each shift, serving a reduced menu* over reduced hours (11am-10pm).
  • Customers are asked to use contactless payment methods and cap their spend at £25 wherever possible.
  • McDonald’s will continue to encourage the use of the My McDonald’s App to view the menu, order and pay before arrival.