'˜Mum said I will go out in the first round': Northamptonshire's celebrity vicar rates his Masterchef chances

The rector for St Mary the Virgin in Finedon, will face 19 other personalities in series 11 of the tough BBC cooking show in June.

Among those who will attempt to impress hosts Gregg Wallace and John Torode will be singers Sinitta Malone and Jimmy Osmond and gold medal-winning boxer Audley Harrison.

And joining them will be Northamptonshire’s own former Communard, Mr Coles.

Speaking to this newspaper the vicar, former pop star and host of Radio Four’s Saturday Morning Live said: “I’m a great believer in eating food - as for my ambition to cook food, I’m known to cook a bit but I doubt I’m going to be an Escoffier chef any time soon.”

Mr Coles said he did intend to use Finedon’s own famous apples in a signature dish on the show.

But he said his chances of claiming the Masterchef crown were slim.

“I said to my mum, I’m going to be on Masterchef,” he joked.

“And she replied with a mum’s customary lack of sentimentality - ‘You’ll go out in the first round’.”

Many fine home chefs have fallen foul of Mr Wallace and Mr Torrode’s critical tastebuds, but the vicar said he looked forward to the challenge.

“I’m very excited about it and very keen, I have been looking at lots of recipes and trying to sneak bits of cooking equipment into the church.

“They are both quite rigorous judges, but we have to do these things with a spring in our step - and some salt and butter always helps as well.”