THE knives and forks will be out as a Blackburn businesswoman takes on three rivals in a soon-to-be-aired episode of Come Dine With Me.

Viewers of the hit Channel Four show will be able to see mother-of-three Nicola Donnelly take on the other Lancashire contestants in a bid to claim the £1,000 jackpot.

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Filming for the show, which has had 30 series to date, took place last month and saw Nicola attend three dinner parties before hosting the hopefuls for herself in a bid to claim the honour of winning the show.

Nicola, who owns Rae’s Wholefoods in Feniscowles, Blackburn, stuck to basics with a salad to start and crepes, fruit and chocolate for desert but spiced up the occasion with her trademark Caribbean chicken curry, the details of which Nicola said viewers would have to wait until the show is aired to discover.

However, she did reveal the dish had become a favourite at her deli and coffee shop in Kentmere Drive where it appears on the menu every Friday.

Nicola, 36, said: “I first saw that Channel Four was advertising for contestants on Twitter a while ago.

“They were asking for couples to come forward and apply for a place on the show.

“I contacted them and said that if they were ever looking for singles to take part in the area to let me know.

“They told me to fill out an application form and they rang me back and I had a telephone interview with the producers.

“They then came round to my house in Chorley and I had a filmed interview before they officially invited me to take part in the programme.

“Being on the show was a lot different to how I thought it was going to be.

“There was a lot of hanging around waiting for other things to happen.

“I had a great time talking to and getting to know the other contestants and they were all really nice people.

“The camera crew were all really nice as well and I’m happy with how my dinner party went.

“I enjoyed going to everyone’s houses and I would recommend others taking part in the future.”

In the episode, which is due to be screened nationwide this year, viewers will see Nicola compete for the most points with fellow contestants Mark, a cricket coach from Hoghton, make-up artist Kerry and priest Tim, both from Preston.

Come Dine With Me has become a hit for Channel Four since it was first broadcast in 2005 and the format has been taken up by many broadcasters.