WHY MARY GOT THE JITTERS

Lifting the trophy requires more than a degree of culinary competence, and Mary reveals she had a niggling doubt about whether the contestants would be able to step up to the plate. ‘I was a little bit nervous, wondering what the celebrities would be like. Would they take it seriously, and would they have the skills?’ she says. ‘But they have been passionate, and they’ve been taking it seriously from day one.’

That has been evident already, with dishes from comforting macaroni cheese and lasagne to a spicy, fragrant curry and an ambitious Mexican taco feast. ‘They blew our heads off!’ says Claudia Winkleman.