‘I WAS SHOCKED BY HOW NAUGHTY DEBBIE WAS’

Celebrity Big Brother star Courtney Act, 37, got on famously well with her dinner guests…

Hi Courtney! How aware were you of this iconic show?

Everyone loves Come Dine With Me! When I told my parents, my American friends, anyone from everywhere, they all loved the fact I was doing it!

And did it live up to expectations?

It was actually so much more stressful than I imagined! I cook at home for myself all the time, but cooking for six people is a lot more difficult – there’s a whole other level of guilt! I know that sounds dramatic, but I had a couple of successes and a couple of disasters, definitely.

You did a vegan menu, right?

I did. And let me tell you when you’re a vegan, you’re just happy to eat full stop. If you go to someone’s house for dinner and there’s actual food for you to eat – ie, not the meat option with the meat scraped off – you’re just so grateful. Anyway, I’m not sure how much I can say, but some of the guests weren’t au fait with vegetables. And when you cook vegan, all you have is vegetables.

We assume you’re talking about Charlotte here?!

Not just Charlotte! In fact the gang wasn’t as responsive to the menu as I’d have hoped. I live in my East London bubble, I’ve been vegan for years and I assumed everyone would love it. It’s better for you, the environment and the animals, but everyone just wanted meat!

How did you find the other menus?

I actually felt guilty, like I was an inconvenience, but everyone did a vegan option and I was thrilled that I was eating at all! It wasn’t always world-class food, mind.

Who did you get on with best?

I loved Charlotte – she has a lot of drag qualities. We definitely spent the most time in hair and make-up because I did three days in drag and two out of it. She was a lot of fun. And it was lovely to hear Debbie talk about being on TV in the golden era. Later, I watched clips of her and her husband Paul Daniels and Les, Charlotte’s dad.

Will any of the celebs surprise us?

I think you’ll be shocked to hear how naughty Ms Mcgee was. When we had dinner at hers there were things she revealed that I didn’t expect to come out of her mouth! They were quite saucy – and I’m not just talking about the schnitzels!