DINING COMPANION

SUSAN CALMAN JOINS THE CHEFS AS THEY PAY TRIBUTE TO CHILDREN’S LITERATURE…

GREAT BRITISH MENU | BBC2 WEDNESDAY-FRIDAY

There’s a change to the format of the latest series of Great British Menu, as comic Susan Calman becomes its new presenter, keeping an eye on the chefs, veterans and judges. And it turns out that when the BBC approached her about the role, she was far more qualified than they realised…

“My agent got an email saying that they were looking for a presenter,” Susan tells Inside TV. “She said, ‘You probably don’t know this programme’, and I replied saying, ‘I’ve seen every single series!’ So she messaged the producers, and they thought I was lying; that I was a traditional presenter going, ‘Ooh, I love your show’ – but I really do love it, and I’ve watched them all!”

Understandably, getting to be a part of the programme was a huge thrill for Susan, who’s pretty much living out every viewer’s dream…

“I’m an average viewer who sits at home going, ‘That looks lovely, I wonder what it tastes like?’” she grins. “So to be able to be in the kitchen and taste it is fantastic!”

Susan’s goal on the show is to provide support to the chefs taking part – should things not go wholly to plan – and to ensure that the viewers have all the context they need to fully appreciate what the chefs are working on.

“When things go wrong, I come in and say, ‘It’s okay, nothing’s disastrous, we can get through this’,” explains Susan. “There’s a theme of children’s literature for this series, which was an incredible idea. Part of my role is to ask the chefs about that connection, and see where it is that they’re getting their inspiration from. If it doesn’t make sense to me, I ask them about that. I think there’s a broader spread of dishes than ever before – because of the theme, they could pick anything they wanted, so there’s very little repetition.”

So has being up close with the chefs turned Susan into a total whizz in the kitchen? Well, yes and no…

“I have literally just bought myself a cast-iron skillet so I can cook my meat and fish better!” she chuckles. “But,

I tell you what, I am never entering Celebrity Masterchef after this. Imagine being the presenter of Great British Menu, then turning up and doing something like mashed potato and beans!”