‘I was frightened to death!'

Su Pollard on entering the infamous MasterChef kitchen

- TESS LAMACRAFT

CELEBRITY MASTERCHEF NEW MONDAY, TUESDAY & FRIDAY / BBC1 / 9PM / EPS 1-3 of 18 / COOKERY

Chopping boards at the ready! The ever-popular Celebrity MasterChef returns to BBC1 for a 16th series this week, welcoming a fresh batch of 20 famous faces, who all hope that their culinary skills will impress hard-to-please judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace.

Putting on their aprons for heat one are Hi-de-Hi! favourite Su Pollard, ex-EastEnders actor Rita Simons, Blue singer Duncan James, Happy Mondays dancer Bez and social-media star Munya Chawawa.

Here, in an exclusive interview, Su, 71, tells TV Times why she finally accepted this challenge…

What made you want to compete in Celebrity MasterChef?

They’ve asked me over the years, but I have always said, ‘No!’ I’ve never really been that interested in cooking. But I suddenly thought, ‘Look, you’ve got to try and learn some new skills.’

However, when I got the brief of what was expected of me, the terror set in and I wanted to pull out! Then I thought, ‘Don’t be ridiculous – you’ll have a fun time.’ And I can honestly say that I had a brilliant time!

Did you know any of your fellow celebs beforehand?

I knew Rita and Duncan, but I didn’t know Munya or Bez. My sister was thrilled that I was on the show with Bez. She said, ‘How fabulous, I love him!’ And he was great.

Who were your biggest rivals?