By ROBERT GIBSON

Last updated at 10:53, Thursday, 16 April 2009

WAITING to see how he would come across on the Channel 4 show Come Dine With Me may have been a difficult experience for Prudhoe DJ Wayne Allen.

But it turns out the 34-year-old has nothing to worry about when it comes to his cooking, scooping the £1,000 prize money over the other three hopefuls who appeared on the programme on Sunday night.

Starting with Nonna’s chicken minestra, Wayne moved on to fillet steak for his main course, and – after a few struggles in the kitchen – finished with chocolate profiteroles.

Suitably impressed, his guests awarded him a total of 22 points out of 30 for his both culinary and hosting skills.

As expected, however, the programme’s editors had more than a little fun at Wayne’s expense, taking every opportunity they could to undermine what they saw as his “flash” image.

At one point, the narrator, comedian Dave Lamb, sarcastically compared him to David Beckham.

Other highlights included him licking his plate, weeping after singing a verse of Leaving on a Jet Plane, and referring to a non-existent host called Tracy.

The editors must have also had a wail of a time charting the decline of the relationship between Wayne and fellow-contestant Jayne, a foody perfectionist who served up a dessert called deconstructed banoffee pie with gold.

Tensions reached crisis point when Wayne introduced a ‘game’, whereby he assumed the role of DJ and posed questions to each of the contestants.

On realising he was not impressed by her “celebrity lifestyle on a mum-of-two’s budget”, Jayne left her own dinner party in tears. Wayne, to be fair, apologised.

All in all, it was compulsive viewing, but Tynedale’s audience could be forgiven for feeling a little aggrieved.

Wayne, who is a presenter on TFM Radio, only managed to get on the Teesside show as he works in Stockton.

Thus, as he feared, no mention was made of Prudhoe, or Brocksbushes farm shop, where he purchased those prize-winning ingredients.

First published at 09:54, Friday, 10 April 2009
Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk