“I’m the ringmaster and I will crack the whip but they will have to do everything themselves. They really are in charge of their own destiny.” Marco Pierre White.

Marco Pierre White is back on ITV1 with TV’s toughest celebrity cooking challenge yet. Twelve celebrities will be cooking in a professional kitchen for diners all on their own and the pressure will be relentless from the start. ‘Marco’s Kitchen Burnout’ is brand new & exclusive to ITV1. Fridays from 16th April at 9pm.

Four ruthless weekly heats build to two semi finals and a nail biting final as Marco narrows the field in the hunt for Britain’s top amateur celebrity chef. Each heat sees three stars lock horns in a culinary showdown but only two can go on to the next round. One will be out of the competition for good. The wannabe chefs fighting tooth and nail are:

Heat 1: Kelvin Macenzie, Donna Air and Tupele Dorgu
Heat 2: Elen Rivas, Ruth Langsford and Mark Watson
Heat 3: Nancy Dell’Ollio, Debra Stephenson and Jason Byrne
Heat 4: Russell Grant, Carol Smilie and Alex Fearns.

Before they face the heat of the kitchen the contestants will learn all they can from Marco, via a food challenge. But then they will face the mammoth task of designing and cooking their own menu for 25 diners each. The celebrities must stand or fall on their own because in this game Marco’s help comes at a price.

On the evening itself the celebrities dish out the food and the diners dish out their scores. If the celebrities get into trouble they can ask for Marco’s help, but it comes at a price. For every minute he spends with them there’s a point deducted from their final score

And at the end of the night, in front of a packed restaurant, Marco reveals the results. The celebrity with the highest score gains automatic passage to the next round. The two remaining celebrities are then given the chance to plead for their survival. Marco saves one chef. The other suffers instant Kitchen Burnout. Ultimately only one can win.

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As usual, they have 72 hours to prepare themselves before they must cook a full service for 25 diners each.

First Marco must judge how well they can cook. The trio travel with him to Longleat House in Wiltshire, home of Marco’s old friend, Lord Bath. After a short briefing from Marco, the celebrities are introduced to the Burnout food truck and given just five minutes to gather the ingredients they need for a meal.

Once they have what they need, they set about cooking a slap up lunch for Lord Bath and 18 of his friends. With just 90 minutes to prepare and cook the meal, the pressure is intense.

The celebrities begin the challenge, under the watchful eye of their mentor. They know that the outcome of this challenge could affect the rest of their time in the Burnout Kitchen.

Alex throws himself into the task but cuts himself twice within the first five minutes. Carol also feels the pressure as they prepare the meal under Marco’s gaze. Just as they are about to serve the food she spills the gravy.

On day two, the contestants enter the burnout kitchen. Marco wants them to design their menus, practice their dishes and present their food to him.

Outside the restaurant is the Burnout food truck which contains a limited selection of ingredients available for their menus. As usual, whoever goes first has a huge advantage.

The celebrities then prepare their dishes and present them to Marco. Carol and Russell fare well while Alex comes in for some criticism for his over-cooked steak and burnt parsnips.

On the morning of the service, the celebrities set about preparing everything in time for feeding that evening’s diners. The diners will be scoring the celebrities. Whoever receives the highest score will automatically go through to the semi-final. Marco will choose one of the remaining two to join them. As the diners arrive, Marco reveals to the celebrities that they can call upon his time if they get into trouble. But it will come at a cost – for every minute bought, a point will be deducted from their final score.

As service begins, Carol nips out to butter up her diners but misses her first soup orders as a result. She returns to the kitchen to find she has burnt two of her soups but sends them out anyway.

Russell’s main course begins with a disaster when one is sent back by a diner who complains that it looks ‘too grey’.

Alex has difficulty remembering what was supposed to be on his dishes, sending out several of them without vegetables or gravy. Desperate for votes he runs into the dining room and serves the diners himself.

The celebrities have all faced their own personal challenges throughout the service and wait nervously for the diner’s results to come in.

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This week the celebrities facing the ultimate cooking challenge are actress Debra Stephenson, socialite Nancy Dell’Olio and comedian Jason Byrne.

As usual, they have 72 hours to prepare themselves before they must cook a full service for 25 diners each.

First Marco must judge how well they can cook. He sets them the challenge of preparing a two course meal for boxing legend and former Hell’s Kitchen winner, Barry McGuigan and 17 of his boxing buddies, including current WBA World Light welterweight champion Amir Khan.

The celebrities step into the kitchens of ‘Marcos’ in Chelsea, under the watchful eye of their mentor. They know that the outcome of this challenge could affect the rest of their time in the Burnout Kitchen. They are all nervous as the challenge begins. Not only must they cook in front of Marco but also some of the toughest men in the world.

In the kitchen, Nancy has to steam some halibut, Jason pan fries some Dover Sole and Debra pan fries some steaks.

The three celebrities then learn how to make the dessert ‘Poire Belle Ellen’ from Marco. However, Debra is the only contestant to make it correctly. The others fear this means Debra may win the challenge.

On day two, the contestants enter the burnout kitchen. Marco wants them to design their menus, practice their dishes and present their food to him.

Outside the restaurant is the Burnout food truck which contains a limited selection of ingredients available for their menus. As usual, whoever goes first has a huge advantage.

The winner of the challenge picks calves kidneys, pork and skate as their main dishes. The next celebrity to go in selects chicken, the rest of the calves kidneys and sea bream but panics when they can’t find the potatoes.

The final contestant to enter the truck is left with sea bream, skate and the rest of the chicken.

Jason is up and his first dish goes down well with Marco. However, it all goes downhill from here. His next dish is not to Marco’s taste and Marco refuses to even try Jason’s last dish.

Marco warns Jason that he needs to concentrate on cooking his meats properly otherwise they’ll be sent back.

Nancy is next and is delighted to impress Marco with her menu of three Italian main courses.
All her dishes go down well.

Finally, Marco’s tries Debra’s meals and loves one of her main courses.

Marco then gives his verdict on all three. He feels Jason will not be afraid to have a go, Debra can cook well and Nancy should fare well as she is not afraid of the stove.

On the morning of the service, the celebrities set about preparing everything in time for feeding that evening’s diners. The diners will be scoring the celebrities. Whoever receives the highest score will automatically go through to the semi-final. Marco will choose one of the remaining two to join them. As the diners arrive, Marco reveals to the celebrities that they can call upon his time if they get into trouble. But it will come at a cost – for every minute bought, a point will be deducted from their final score.

During service some of Jason’s food is undercooked and he struggles. But he tries to rectify things by buying some of Marco’s time. Deborah manages to be feed everyone in time but also needs to buy some of Marco’s time to get her through. Finally, Nancy manages to feed her diners but with just seconds to go. Having also bought some of Marco’s time, our expert chef has never been in such demand.

The celebrities have all faced their own personal challenges throughout the service and wait nervously for the diner’s results to come in.

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Marco begins by challenging this latest trio of celebrities to cook lunch for Frankie Dettori and his friends, including Lester Piggott.

A supremely confident Ellen has no problem cooking her tuna steaks but it’s a different story for Ruth and Mark. Mark leaves Marco stunned when he fails to peel an avocado properly which provokes hysterical laughter from a competitive Elen.

The eventual winner of the challenge has the advantage for the service later on and will be first to raid the Burnout truck for their ingredients.

On day two, the contestants enter the burnout kitchen. Marco wants them to design their menus, practice their dishes and present their food to him.

Outside the restaurant is the burnout food truck which contains a limited selection of ingredients available for their menus. As usual, whoever goes first has a huge advantage.

The winner of the challenge wastes no time in taking most of the sirloin steaks before grabbing some halibut and tuna.

The next contestant is disappointed by the lack of steaks and confused about the amount of food they need for service. They panic and describe the experience as, ‘One of the worst of my life.’

The final contestant to enter the food truck is forced to take the unwanted veal kidneys for their menu but impresses Marco with their choices to garnish the dishes.

Tensions rise when the contestants are asked to present their dishes to Marco. Ruth’s choices are torn apart by a disappointed Marco and he describes her food as ‘disgusting’ before offering some much needed advice.

Elen impresses with her food but Marco expresses concerns about her presentation. He believes she will struggle during service.

Finally a flustered Mark presents his three dishes to Marco. Seeing Mark is struggling to create an edible menu, Marco steps in with a few simple tips that he hopes will help Mark impress his diners.

On the morning of the service, the celebrities set about preparing everything in time for feeding that evening’s diners. The diners will be scoring the celebrities. Whoever receives the highest score will automatically go through to the semi-final. Marco will choose one of the remaining two to join them. As the diners arrive, Marco reveals to the celebrities that they can call upon his time if they get into trouble. But it will come at a cost – for every minute bought, a point will be deducted from their final score.

The celebrities all cook the same starters which causes chaos in the kitchen. Time with Marco is in demand as they all struggle in different areas. By the end of the service, all three have met personal challenges and step out to meet their public.

The highest scorer moves straight into the semi finals. For the remaining two, they wait nervously as Marco decides their fate.

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INTERVIEW WITH RUSSELL GRANT

“I am really worried about cooking Marco style. I am workers caff. I am greasy spoon, Wimbledon theatre darling, and spag bowl.”

Astrologer and actor Russell Grant admits that the one reason for doing the show was to cook with his favourite TV chef.

“I have turned down lots of other cookery shows, but to me Marco is a hero.  I love watching him on the telly. He’s just a great guy.  He is also born in December, and I get on very well with Sagittarians.  I love their optimism and inspirational value, and he’s all those things.

“But he can also be very formidable. Especially when he gives us the look of death!”

This time last year Russell couldn’t even think about dashing around Marco’s kitchen, keeping up with the high-speed turnover of meals for 25 diners. He was fighting his own battles with food.

“I was nearly 24 stone, and I’m only short, about five foot six. I couldn’t even walk a few yards without using a stick. All the weight I’d lost in Celebrity Fit Club a few years earlier, I’d put on, again…and more.

“It came to the point, I had to do something because there were so many good things happening to me astrologically. So I started my diet on a new moon, and then basically each day looked at the aspects. I found that good aspects were bad for a diet because you thought you could eat anything. And the bad aspects were challenging, but good for a diet.

“I started to eat more little and often, have breakfasts which I’d never eaten before, give up bread because I had a yeast allergy, eat my main meal at lunch time each day, and stop eating after 6pm.

“Over a year I lost seven and a half stone.  My relationship with food is much more sensible now. It’s changed my life completely and means that all this is now possible. I am totally thrilled.”

Back home in Wales, Russell loves cooking for friends and family in his designer kitchen.

“I cook ‘school dinners’. People who love partridge and fondant potatoes can go to Marco. For your roast beef, Yorkshire puds, gravy, and eggs and bacon they can come to me.

“I am really worried about cooking Marco style. I am workers caff, I am Wimbledon theatre greasy spoon, darling, and spag bowl.”

At the start of his TV career, there is one dinner party that Russell would rather forget.

“The worst thing I ever did was when I followed a recipe for a curry which called for hard boiled eggs to be placed in the middle of the rice. But it didn’t say anything about taking off the shells, and all I could hear was my two friends crunching their way through these eggs. I never saw them again!”

His most memorable meals are those cooked by his two beloved grandmothers.

“It was my grandmothers who taught me to cook. My nanny Lilly used to make the most wonderful comfort food. The best thing she did was fry ups – most delicious fried bread eve and roasts. And my nanny Alice made the best pastries and apple pies and the best roast lamb. “

Most of all he is hoping to learn a few tricks of the trade from Marco, and see how the other half eat.

“I will be asking Marco for help, which I know will lose me some points, but I would much rather diners go away happy. It would upset me greatly if they had to go to McDonalds afterwards. “

He’s even checked out the planets to see what the future holds.

“What I do know is that this is one of the heaviest weeks, astrologically revealing chinks in our armour. So it’s going to be a difficult week for everyone. It’s an important week for us to play to our strengths.

“The problem is I’m not very competitive. I love being here with my new friends, and at the moment, we are all being jokey.“

He is thrilled that Marco has already given him a giant pat on the back.

“He said I got his Maitre d’ vote and that if he had a restaurant he would want me as the perfect person for front of house. It was a huge compliment.”

So far, Russell has managed to avoid the temptation of chocolate desserts in Marco’s kitchen.

“In the past, I wouldn’t have been able to resist them. My weakness is cheese and chocolate. But I have fought my demons, and had a change of attitude. I’ll eat what I want now and throw the rest away.”

As for fancy cooking…Marco style.

“I’ll pick up a few tips from him, and might be a bit dainty at times and do something spectacular with a pudding for my next dinner party. But I don’t think people who come to me want to be surprised by cordon bleu. They want wholesome food.”

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INTERVIEW WITH ALEX FERNS

“Practising for Marco’s Kitchen Burnout, I set my stove on fire cooking prawn pasta. That is not a good start, is it?”

Actor Alex Ferns, 41, makes no bones about it. He’s out to win!

“I always say that I’m not a competitive person but if I am being honest, I am. I’m the same with playing golf.  I want to win.

“So when I found out for sure I was going to do this, I said to my wife Jennifer, I’m going to make this prawn pasta dish. Yeah, I’m going to be great on this show.

“She went up to have a bath, our sons Cameron, seven and Mackenzie, three, were asleep in bed, and I poured myself a glass of wine while I started defrosting prawns at the sink.

“I walked into the living room, forgetting I’d left the empty wok with oil on the gas. And the next thing I know, there are flames in the pan, smoke everywhere, the alarms are going off, and I knock over one of our expensive wine glasses and smash it. Setting the kitchen on fire…not a good start is it!”

To date, his only TV role involving food has been as ‘soaps most-hated villain’ playing EastEnders wife-beater Trevor Morgan.

“Viewers might remember how I used to throw dinners at the wall. And then of course there was the time I poured gravy all over Little Mo’s Christmas dinner, shoved her face in it and made her eat it off the floor.

“Hopefully I am not going to be doing that in this kitchen, making Marco eat his food off the floor!”

Growing up in South Africa, Alex was taught to cook by his mother.

“I spent 17 years there, and the food is very Mediterranean. Lots of grilled meats, salads and fish. And obviously the South African version of the barbecue, called a braai is very popular.

“It’s a very healthy way of living. And like most hot countries you can eat salads most of the time. In this country when you wake up and it’s wet and miserable, the first thing you want is a cooked breakfast. That’s what I want anyway.”

At home, Alex tends to do much of the cooking.

“I like making pasta dishes – when I’m not burning them – and barbecuing and making huge salads.

“Jennifer is thrilled I am doing this show because I’m trying out all sorts of things, and she keeps waiting for my next new dish.”

At 18, he learned to live on rations for two years when he was called up for his national service in the South African army.

“We lived on rat packs – ration packs – when we were in the field, and on patrol. And when you came back to a secure base away from the front line, you’d have a big cooked Sunday meal. When you’re on operations, food can get scarce. But it’s definitely true that an army marches on its stomach.”

His favourite restaurant in the world, he says, is in Cape Town, where one of his army pals, cooked on the grills.

“The food is unbelievable. You go there and have a fillet steak, baked potato, lots of soured cream, huge salad and a lovely bottle of wine. That has to be my most memorable meal ever.”

He hopes to cook some memorable meals for the diners.

“My main worry is the pressure of cooking for 25 people. But way I look at is, none of them are going to die. If they don’t get fed, there are about 20 kebab shops within about ten feet of this place. So it’s not a life threatening crisis. But having said that I want to give them food that they will enjoy.

“My strengths are going to be improvisation. And if the proverbial hits the fan, then I am good at coping.

“My weakness is going to be puddings and presentation. But I will give it my best shot.

“I have loved Marco’s way of cooking since he was on Hell’s Kitchen. It’s simple, but well prepared, and looks good.”

He’s also changed his mind about the charismatic chef.

“First of all I thought he was very intimidating and aloof.  But I have had a couple of chats with the master, and he doesn’t want to humiliate us. He wants us to succeed, which is great. I don’t think I could have done this show if it was a case of showing everyone how bad you are.

“To walk away as the winner on this show…that would be a huge tick!””

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INTERVIEW WITH CAROL SMILLIE

“Predominantly I am happier with a power tool in my hand doing DIY, than a wooden spoon, cooking.”

Scottish TV presenter Carol Smillie, 48, reveals she agreed to a role swap with her restaurateur husband. At home, he did the cooking, and she did the DIY.

“I suppose it was a bit unusual, but predominantly I am happier with a power tool in my hand doing DIY, than a wooden spoon cooking.

“My husband used to do most of the meals, but then got in a bit of a strop about it, and said it wasn’t fair. Now we split the cooking and DIY between us.

“So I am hoping on Marco’s Kitchen Burnout, I will learn to cook.”

She admits that she is not at her most relaxed in a kitchen, and wonders how she will fare under Marco’s gaze.

“I can get riled and easily distracted, although if I’ve got all the ingredients in front of me, I will be happy to have a play with them.

“It’s not that I dislike cooking. I would describe myself as an adequate cook. I just get bored with it.

“I’ve suggested to my girlfriends that once a week we should go to each other’s houses and make something for each other’s families. The same boring old stuff we make every week for our own family, won’t be boring to theirs.”

Now she wants to see if she can pep up her dishes, with a few sizzling ingredients from Marco.

“From what I have been told, he’s not in the business of tearing us off a strip because he is only here to advise us.

“If he does tell us off, how I would react would depend if I deserved it. I can’t be bothered with this ‘humiliation’ nonsense. It’s so ridiculous.  I would probably laugh, which is possibly the worst thing I could do!

“Most professional chefs tend to be egotistical maniacs. They are the king of their own castle. Fair enough. But we are not chefs. My husband has four restaurants, but he is not a chef, and has never cooked in one. And I have no experience in a restaurant kitchen whatsoever. So this is all new for me.”

She has already bonded with her first-round competitors, Russell Grant and Alex Ferns.

“I am most worried about being the first off of the three. The trouble is that we are getting on so well, no one wants to go.

“But my biggest fear is people leaving the restaurant because the food is so inedible. The maximum amount of people I’ve ever cooked for is ten, and that would have been a big roast, not lots of different dishes.

Growing up in Glasgow, Carol, a former model, has her own childhood memories of inedible food.

“I was raised with very Presbyterian Scottish cooking with no seasoning and soggy veg that makes you feel sick.

“There is family folk law at home that I don’t eat green vegetables. I was force fed them as a child. And I hated them.

“So I perfected a technique for avoiding them. At dinner, I’d be sitting next to the fridge. And as the youngest of four, no one really listens to what you have to say. So when no one was looking, I would fire my green veg down the back of the fridge. And tightly pack peas into the side of my mouth, which I would spit out when I excused myself to go to the toilet half way through the meal.

“Unfortunately over time, the fridge broke down from the weight of rotting veg behind it. The guy came to fix it, and when dad pulled it out, there it all was. I am surprised we didn’t have rats the size of dogs.”

Since those days, she has learned to make vegetables more palatable in soups and stir frying them.

“I have to eat vegetables in front of my children or I wouldn’t be a good mother.  But I would rather pull out my finger nails than eat brussel sprouts.”

Cooking for three children, Christie, 14, Robbie, 12 and Jodie, 10, she doesn’t give in to fussy eating. Despite the fact that her elder daughter is following in her mother’s footsteps as a model.

“At 14, I would hate her to worry about food. I have never dieted in my life, or watched what I have eaten. Subconsciously, whether you like it or not, if you worry about your weight, you will pass it on to your children.

“I tend to like picky food like Thai or Chinese because you can try a bit of everyone else’s and that is socially acceptable.”

What she’s looking forward to most in Marco’s kitchen is a sense of achievement.

“I’m after the sweet taste of success. It would be unbelievable if I won. I have never won anything in my life. Mind you, if I do, I could be making a rod for my own back. I might never be allowed out of the kitchen by my husband again!”

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INTERVIEW WITH JASON BYRNE

“Learning to cook great food goes straight to a women’s heart. It’s going to be great in the bedroom. I’m going to get way more sex!”

Irish stand-up comedian Jason Byrne, 37, reveals he is learning to cook with Marco, so that he can impress his wife Brenda.

“My wife is such a good cook. She has herbs and oils and cook books everywhere, and cooks stuff I’ve never even seen. She watches all those TV cookery competitions, and understands the pressure in the kitchen. So that when they present their meals to the judges, she goes all weepy.

“I never have anything to dish up for her. I put out the candles and the roses, and out come the potatoes and a bland steak. My wife tells me, ‘The food tastes alright, but there’s no love in your carrots.’”

“What Marco can do is create taste explosions in your mouth. So that’s what I want to learn so I can cook those really cool meals for her.”

Cooking for 25 diners, he says, will give him the confidence to throw a large dinner party in his farmhouse kitchen in Ireland.

“What is going to be brilliant is to invite at least ten of my friends and cook for all of them. And as well as that, it’s going to be great in the bedroom, isn’t it? I’m going to get way more sex.  Food can go straight to a woman’s heart…and maybe other places.”

When Jason was first invited to take part in Marco’s Kitchen Burnout, he turned it down.

“I said, ‘There is no way I can do that show. I can’t cook like that.’ I sat down with my wife Brenda and she said, ”Sorry? What did you say? Who? Marco Pierre White? Get back on that phone and tell them you’re doing it whether you like it or not.’

“She said, it’s like if Pele rang you up and said, ‘Do you want to be taught football for three days?’ You’d say ‘Yeah’, however rubbish you were.”

The comedian’s ignorance on the food front has already shown him up in front of Marco.

“Yesterday I held up a red cabbage to Marco, and said, is this the beetroot you need. And he said, ‘ What?’

“I’ve got to keep it calm. Listen to the shouting, but ignore the shouting. He’ll just be shouting orders. He looks like a scary man. He is quite big. In fact he is massive. He is really a strong person with a warm heart. But he does look menacing. I thought he was going to hate me, because I am such a bad cook.“

Raised in Dublin, Jason blames his ignorance about food on his childhood fads.

“My diet comes from my processed food family from the 70’s and 80’s . For 16 years I was such a fussy eater, I ate the same food every day. Cheesy toast and Neighbours for lunch everyday.  Potato, beans and meat for dinner. I couldn’t even touch sauces, and didn’t eat a pizza until I was 20. It’s such a waste. Luckily my wife has taught me to love food. “

Father of two sons, Devon, 10 and Daniel, 3, it’s Jason’s wife who prepares all the family food.

“When I told Devon I was coming on the show, he said, ”Oh well, daddy. All you can do is your best. But you’ll never be as good a cook as mummy.’

“Even if I offer to prepare the Ready Brek, he says, ‘Please could mum do it?’”

“We’ve got an expresso machine which can make hot chocolate, and he’ll say, ‘No daddy, don’t do it.” And I say, ‘But it’s only hot milk and chocolate’. He’ll say, ‘You don’t even know how to mix it into the milk.’”

So determined is Jason to do well in Marco’s Kitchen Burnout that the worry keeps him awake at night.

“I haven’t slept since I’ve been here in London. All I can see when I close my eyes is Marco’s huge head with that thing on it, just floating around in front of me, going ‘No! No!’, ‘Why would you do that?’ and ‘I told you this already!’”

“From what I’ve seen so far though, he’s got great humour. He doesn’t really talk when he is cooking, and I keep asking him stuff, kind of teasing.

“I asked him why there was no music in his kitchen, and he said because it would distract people. And I said, ‘Yeah you wouldn’t want dancing chefs in here.’ But he didn’t even hear me.

“He’s a football fan though, so perhaps we can talk about that.

“I think most of the food we get to cook will be fairly simple dishes. I just hope when I make mine, he doesn’t say, ”I didn’t mean that simple!”

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INTERVIEW WITH DEBRA STEPHENSON

“To have hints, tips and lessons from Marco Pierre White. It’s like winning a prize. You can’t buy this. So many women would jump at the chance.”

Actress Debra Stephenson, 37, believes that cooking for the man in your life can keep romance alive.

“If you love someone, you cook for them. It’s a way of giving. My husband James likes to cook some really lovely dishes for me. And he loves lasagne, so I love to give him that.  But also if you’ve got children, cooking brings out the nurturing qualities in you. I am not someone who just wants to slam down something rubbish in front of my kids. For me, food is love.

“So to have hints and tips and even lessons, really, from Marco Pierre White is like a prize. You can’t buy this can you? I think a lot of women and fellas as well, who love to cook would jump at the chance.

Huge fans of Debra’s home-cooking are her son Max, 7, and daughter Zoe, 3.

“I always think of myself as a cook, because I cook at home. But suddenly it’s very humbling meeting Marco.  I am actually going to get rid of any pre-conceived ideas about cooking, about whether I can cook, listen to him and just start from scratch.”

“When I said why I was coming on the show, Max said, ‘But mummy, you are already a brilliant cook,’ which is what counts. But then I’ve never cooked three different meals for 25 people before.

“Plus all the dishes I normally do, like shepherd’s pies and casseroles are in the oven. In Marco’s Kitchen Burnout we are not allowed to use the oven, which rules out most of the things I can cook!”

Meeting Marco for the first time, Debra wasn’t sure what to expect.

“Most chefs are quite powerful people. They’ve had to command a great deal of respect, otherwise people don’t follow their orders. Whoever runs a brilliant kitchen is not going to be a pushover. So my expectations were that he would be quite menacing. Also, after Hell’s Kitchen, lots of women had a crush on him.

“He seems to have this kind of aura around him and energy that gets people falling at his feet. But I like to take people as I find them and start with a clean slate.

“Rather than intimidating, I think he is just intense. I think there is a great warmth about him, something of the daddy about him. He commands respect, but at the same time, he would be there for you.

 “There is no point in going into a competition like this unless you are prepared to go along with the drama of it. Marco will only shout in order to help us. So if he does I am not going to take anything personally.”

Even before she competes in the first round, Debra has already learned an important lesson from her mentor.

“Marco has already said that we have to take the emotion away from our cooking and focus. Because once you bring in emotion, you get confused. So as my strategy for doing well, I want to stay focused, logical and rational.  We’ll see how it goes.  It would be amazing to win. I’ve never won anything.

“Part of me really wants to do well and stay in for as long as possible to learn more.

She has already befriended her fellow competitors Nancy Dell’Olio and Jason Byrne.

“Nancy is lovely. I think she is probably quite good because being Italian she will have learned a lot of good tips from her mother. I reckon she eats out a lot and knows good food.

“In the past, I’ve not been good under pressure. My brain stops working, I can’t think what I need to do next, and forget about something that may be on the stove. So Jason, being a comedian will lighten the atmosphere is we all start to take it a bit seriously.”

Her main challenge will be cooking for 25 diners.

“Later this year I’ve got 12 friends and 10 children staying at my house in Dorset, which is a huge number to cook for.

“After doing this show, I don’t think I’m going to find that scary at all.”

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INTERVIEW WITH NANCY DELL’OLIO

“My therapist told me it would be good to do the show, because you never know what you can discover about yourself doing something like this.”

Italian businesswoman and lawyer Nancy Dell’Olio has no doubts who she would invite for her dream dinner party at her London home.

“My first guest would always be Tony Blair, always.  Also Piers Morgan, Simon Cowell, Alistair Campbell, Bill Clinton, perhaps. It’s not a dream dinner party though because these people are already friends of mine.”

So is Marco Pierre White, who she has known for several years.

“I don’t think this gives me an advantage over the other contestants. If anything, the fact that we are friends could play to my disadvantage, and I might have to try harder!

“It will be fun cooking with Marco, and being involved with food. Food is everything, it’s a central part of life, especially in my culture.”

For Nancy, being on a reality show is a totally new experience.

“I have never done anything like this in my life. I get asked to do so many things but I always say no. My psychotherapist told me it was a good thing for me to do. It’s a chance for me to learn something from Marco, but this is also a test for life. That’s why my therapist suggested, in a funny way, that you never know the things you can discover about yourself doing something like this.

“I am ready to get to know other sides of myself, and to show other sides of myself to people. 

“It will be a challenge but I don’t need to win.  It will be a test being surrounded by others in the kitchen, and will send out a message to people about who I am. So there are many positive aspects.

“I cope well under pressure because I am disciplined and determined. I know I will feel stressed at time, but that isn’t always a bad thing. I will try to be focused and not to get over emotional about things. And I am a more emotional person. I like to do things my way, so I can’t predict what is going to happen!”

Growing up in Italy, Nancy learned to make mouth-watering meat and pasta dishes from her mother and grandmother.

“I am not a great cook. I would describe myself as average, in the sense that I am familiar with the basics of food. “The sort of food I cook is very Mediterranean cuisine. Vegetables, chicken, fish, pasta . I can do a bit of everything. The way I eat is basic. Proteins and vegetables. I don’t like any rich sauces, I prefer to be healthy. Sometimes food in a restaurant is too rich. It’s important to find the right balance.”

Most of all, Nancy loves entertaining her famous friends at home.

“There is so much creativity that you can express in a kitchen. I have had some wonderful gastronomique experiences around the world.

“The best meal you can have is at always home. You can always cook something more special than you get in a restaurant.”

“It is much more intimate. Of course I have cooked meals that have gone wrong, or that are overcooked or burned. But not a major disaster, because usually when I have guests for dinner, I have someone in to help.”

What worries her the most about Marco’s Kitchen Burnout is going it alone in a hot busy restaurant kitchen where the pressure will be on.

“The challenge here to cook for 25 people in a professional kitchen is a first time for me. As soon as I walk into the kitchen, I am going to feel nervous. We don’t know what is going to happen next. It is going to be full of surprises.

“I am not a very competitive person. It is going to be tough, and there will be other contestants who are much better than me.

“And if it is necessary for Marco to shout at me, and I am doing something wrong, I will accept it, because you have to play the game, and I know how Marco is. “

Even in her chef’s whites Nancy, who looks fabulous in her forties, is determined to keep up her image with full make-up and jewellery.

“I will try and bring some glamour to the kitchen. Whether or not I manage it, you will have to judge. The kitchen is warm, and I am better in the cold that with the heat. But you get used to it, and I will try and stay as glamorous as possible.

“This for me is not just a test about food, it is a lot of other things. Most of all I am here to participate in the game.

“If I win, I might open up a restaurant with Marco. That would be fun.”

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