CORONATION STREET
MASTERCHEF JUDGES: We talk to Marcus Wareing and Monica Galetti as a new series of Masterchef: The Professionals starts up...
There’s further grief in store for Aidan, when Johnny and Jenny find out he’s been sleeping rough at the factory. Gemma then discovers Johnny’s insurance money has come through (by means of extreme nosiness), and just when the gals think they’ll be back stitching knickers pretty soon, Johnny announces plans to up sticks to Spain! Cue Aidan losing the plot and accusing Jenny of being a gold-digger, how very dare he. Elsewhere, the entertaining Mary v Angie storyline continues with Angie being arrested after Mary tells the cops she’s been drink-driving.
Writer Sharon
Horgan says: “I am thrilled to have finally found a good use for my 14 years of mothering. Apologies in advance to brave women and men of the school run…”
This is series 10! What to expect? MONICA, 42: The cooking has been getting very healthy. MARCUS, 47: We all want to be a bit better with what we eat and I think the younger chefs are clocking onto that. This series is for chefs who are already working in the industry; do they still get nervous? MARCUS: Professional chefs don’t usually cook in TV studios. MONICA: They have cameras on them, and people watching every move they make. When they walk into the studio for the first time we don’t speak to them. It’s kind of awkward – we’re staring at them until we’re told we can speak. Normally Gregg [Wallace] makes a joke to help them relax but that can go the wrong way and we have to say, “Gregg, that’s enough!” What would be your guilty pleasure food-wise? MARCUS: Always cold chocolate from the fridge. For my birthday, Monica stocked the fridge with four-finger Kit Kats. I just filled my boots and went home! MONICA: I love those pickles in a jar, and no – I’m not pregnant! I recycle the juice and I make a gel with it in the restaurant. Is there much joking around on set? MARCUS. Only from Gregg, and they are the same jokes every series. We all have to laugh… MONICA: He has a great memory for the punchlines, but not for who he has already told them to. MARCUS: But Gregg brings a whole new level of energy to the set... MONICA: This can help if we’ve been at it [filming] for three or four weeks. Gregg walks in – loud and full of energy – and then we relax and have a bit of a laugh. He also has a great palate; he never stops eating! Do you have to hit the gym because of all the sampling? MARCUS: This morning I was in the gym, Monica was the same. MONICA: It’s a lifestyle – though I don’t eat as much as Gregg! MARCUS: When I was training, I always used to go hungry so I could taste all the way through service and I never really had a meal. On Masterchef, we do six to seven plates one after another, and even though we’ve hardly eaten all day, we feel it. MONICA: We try everything. And we’re not just picking a little slice because we’re on a diet. Sometimes it’s so good you think it’s a shame you can’t eat all of it! What’s the first thing you do when you get home? MONICA: The days have been long this year. But I would just go back to the restaurant [earlier this year Monica opened Mere in London’s Fitzrovia]. MARCUS: On Masterchef, you’re in a completely different mindset to the day job and I come out of it feeling a lot more tired. I tended to go to an empty zone like a health club. Last year, I found myself going back to my kitchen after filming but it just made me feel more stressed… MONICA: I found it a relief! MARCUS: But your kitchen is brand new. We were all dreading Monica coming in tired and angry, but she was great and we got a little bedroom for her… MONICA: I had a room on set where I went to sleep! It’s been such a crazy time.