As Masterchef star - and Kent resident - Gregg Wallace gets ready for his first theatre tour, he talked to What's on about live performance, EastEnders and making jokes.

As his millions of TV fans will testify, he has enough star wattage to power the kitchen of every restaurant in London - yet he describes himself as “a spoon for hire.”

As a judge on the BBC cooking competition, MasterChef, and presenter on Eat Well for Less, he’s known for his TV charisma, but how will he be on stage, when he stages his first solo theatre tour - named “Doesn’t Get Tougher Than This” after his catchphrase on MasterChef.

Infact, he took to live performance like a duck – or should that be a duck a l’orange? – to water.

Gregg, 53, said: “I did four trial dates. Sometimes I played in front of only 40 people, but I absolutely loved it. My agent sat at the back and at the end said to me, ‘You’re obviously having a whale of a time!’”

Happy to make jokes at his own expense, he says: “Audiences who come to my live show will obviously know that I’m not going to be doing Hamlet. Anyway, with my accent, it would be ‘Amlet!”

Dad of two Gregg, who married Anne-Marie at Hever Castle two years ago, admits to having unfulfilled ambition – but not necessarily foodwise – instead, on EastEnders.

“Could I turn up as Gregg Wallace? Could I appear out of the blue at Christmas? Would I be looking for my real father? Might there be someone on EastEnders I was married to that I had forgotten all about?”

The presenter, who lives in Whitstable, has fronted Celebrity MasterChef, MasterChef: The Professionals, Inside the Factory and Eat Well For Less.

A passionate rugby fan, who has gained two coaching badges, he likened the feel of performing before a live audience to the game.

“I have played rugby very badly all my life, but I’ve never played in front of more than a couple of grandads and an Alsatian. However, when I came on stage during the warm-up gigs and said, ‘I don’t know if you should be honoured or dismayed to be here’, the audience cheered.

“ I thought, ‘This must be what it’s like to be a rugby international’. I got an enormous buzz, and I don’t think I landed for the next 24 hours. At that moment, if I could have gone out into the auditorium and cuddled every single member of the audience, I would have done!”

He added: “You instantly know whether people think you’re funny or not. The reaction when they laugh is huge. I didn’t expect that sort of thrill. I much prefer the sound of laughter to silence. Even if you make a point on stage that’s clever, what does clever sound like?”

“You don’t want to go to bed after the show. It’s no good driving home. You want to go to the bar to keep the excitement going. I’ve got to be careful. I don’t want to drink myself into an early grave during the tour!”

In the show, Gregg will be covering everything from “love, marriage, hair loss and weight loss,” as well as discussing how he rose from being a greengrocer to one of Britain’s leading TV presenters.

Also expect some behind-the-scenes anecdotes about MasterChef, which he presents with his John Torode, and looking in detail at what we eat and drink. And expect plenty of audience participation.

Gregg, whose autobiography, Life on a Plate, was published in 2012 by Orion Books, will also be answering frequently asked questions such as how friendly are you and John Torode really; is John really Australian and are you going to remain married this time? Plus… Is the food on MasterChef cold and does he want to spit the food out?

So what does he hope audiences will take away from Doesn’t Get Tougher Than This?

“I’d like them to look at food slightly differently and start to read the labels. Don’t take advertisers’ word for things. I also hope they go to work the next morning and say ‘Did you know that on MasterChef they regularly…? I also hope audiences come out of the theatre giggling.”

DETAILS

Gregg Wallace will be at the Trinity Theatre, Tunbridge Wells on Friday, October 26. To book tickets from £18 visit trinitytheatre.ticketsolve.com or call 01892 678 678.