Talking Shop: Come Dine With Me narrator

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Actor Dave Lamb, who has appeared in EastEnders and Moving Wallpaper, is best known for his humorous commentary on the Channel 4 show Come Dine With Me.

Lamb has narrated the show, which sees a group of strangers rate each other's dinner parties, since it started in 2005.

The reality-cookery hybrid, which is about to start a new series, has been such a hit that people at home have started hosting their own Come Dine With Me parties.

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Dave Lamb has no idea why fussy eaters go on the show

Hello! How are you?

Hi there. It's nice to meet you.

Oh, you don't sound like you do on the TV.

No! My normal voice is not the same, so I don't get recognised verbally.

My show voice is very camp and very excitable. I don't really know where it came from, but it's really good fun doing it.

You can be quite rude about participants - has anyone ever complained?

If they have, it doesn't reach my ears. My job is to try to make it seem as if I'm making it up off the top of my head.

Because I've not seen the script and I don't know who wins, I do approach it like a viewer, so yes it does sometimes get catty.

There's a lot of stuff that is completely un-useable. I swear terribly, there's a lot of out takes, because you do get quite angry with people. People can be so horrible to each other.

Ardent fans wonder why fussy eaters go on the show. Do you know the answer?

They're given £125 to put the thing on, if they want to spend that on caterers then it's up to them

That's a bit of a mystery, I don't know. They just want to be on the TV, I suppose.

They go into it thinking they'll come across brilliantly and they don't realise it's not up to them how they come across. Ultimately, it's the producers.

Fans are divided on this one: Is it cheating to employ caterers?

In my eyes it's not. It's about throwing a dinner party. I think it's up to them.

They're given £125 to put the thing on, if they want to spend that on caterers, then it's up to them.

As long as they're up front about it, it's cheating if they say they haven't brought in caterers, and they have.

What is the funniest thing you have seen on the show?

I remember when someone had to run down a corridor to be sick.

Someone hadn't cooked a poached egg properly so they were spooning in a wobbly, raw egg. They literally gagged and ran to the toilet.

There is also the famous Preston week, where one of the contestants made her starter and then went to bed.

She left the guests to make their own main and pudding themselves. It was the best week.

Why is the show such a big hit?

Not eating seafood is a favourite amongst guests

Because it's so simple. There's definitely a voyeuristic element to it, too. People poking around people's houses.

And also it's good to see the difference between people's perceptions of themselves and the way the outside world perceives them. There's always a lot of comedy that comes out of that.

How much input do you have over what you say?

They go away and film it, they cut, write the script and at the very last minute I read the script to the pictures. I'm allowed to improvise and add a few touches.

Would you ever participate yourself?

No, because I'd have to take the mickey out of myself which would be awful. I'm not a cook either and it would be disaster.

People have started to host their own Come Dine With Me Parties, what do you think of that?

I've heard that. My sister-in-law has got her own Come Dine With Me thing going on and she got me to do a little voiceover for it.

Have you got any tips for winning the show?

Think about your guests. You can make the finest, most technically correct dish in the world, but if your guests like fish and chips or baked beans on toast then they're not going to like what you've cooked.

It shouldn't be about fulfilling your culinary dreams, it's about hosting a party and entertaining other people.

<i>Dave Lamb was talking to entertainment reporter Fiona Pryor</i>

<i>The new series of Come Dine With Me starts on Channel 4 on 20 September at 2000 BST with a celebrity special.</i>