Exclusive: Claire Grogan cooks up new image with Celebrity Masterchef challenge

Jun 29 2008 By Steve Hendry

CLARE GROGAN got her big acting break when she was spotted working in a busy restaurant and offered a part in hit film Gregory's Girl.

Now the Scots singer and actress is hoping to fall back on her teenage waitressing experience as she battles for a place in the quarter finals of Celebrity MasterChef.

Clare, 46, takes part in the first show of the new series alongside actor Joe McGann and TV presenter Andi Peters.

And it is not only presenters Gregg Wallace and Michelin-starred chef John Torode who will test her culinary skills - she also cooks for the paying public at a London restaurant.

She said: "Last week I sang in front of 8000 people and didn't sweat it at all.

"But when I stepped out of my comfort zone and into the MasterChef kitchen, I was terrified.

"We had to cook in a fabulous London restaurant, Bertorelli's.

I had never cooked in a professional kitchen but I had been a waitress many years ago at the Spaghetti Factory in Glasgow so knew what to expect.

"It was the place Bill Forsyth spotted me for Gregory's Girl.

"It was very busy and made me aware of how crazy it gets in a kitchen so I felt like I had a head start - until they said we all had a dish we had to prepare for the lunchtime service.

"I had to cook lamb cutlets with a casserole of fennel and artichoke - my biggest fear.

"I did it and nothing got sent back although I did burn my fingers to pieces.

"Then we had to create two dishes in an hour from the mystery ingredients. I did a kind of chilli prawn stir fry.

"I actually stocked up on recipe books from Cafe Gandolfi and other Scottish restaurants before I went in."

The Spaghetti Factory is very much on the mind of the former Altered Images singer, who worked there when they signed their first record deal. The band went on to enjoy hits in the 1980s with Happy Birthday, Don't Talk To Me About Love and I Could Be Happy.

She is married to former Altered Images guitarist Stephen Lironi, with whom she has an adopted daughter, Lucia, three, Clare is putting the finishing touches to her debut novel about a schoolgirl pop star after signing a three-book deal.

She said: "It's called Tallulah And The Teenstars and is very loosely based on my early experience with Altered Images.

I'm very excited about it. It's getting a very nice response.

"It's not about being rich and famous, it's about striving to be good at something. I love the idea of inspiring people to live their dream.

"I love to encourage girls to play guitar. I love that Amy Macdonald is so passionate about it and is working hard for it."

Clare will also star in a one-off Channel 4 drama called Emo, playing a Glasgow teacher who meets up with a former pupil intent on throwing his potential away. In the meantime the actress is looking forward to seeing MasterChef.

She was taught how to cook by her mum, hairdresser Pattie, and loves passing it on to Lucia.

She said: "My mum got my sisters and I involved in the kitchen very early on and that was a great thing.

"I love cooking with my daughter, even though she's a pest in the kitchen. I'm quite old fashioned at heart. It's great to be self-sufficient."

Clare is sworn to secrecy on whether or not her stir fry is enough to make it through to the next round of MasterChef but she is already back in the kitchen - her own.

She said: "I am one of those mums who is home most nights making the tea.

"When people look at me they don't necessarily think I'd be a whiz in the kitchen but there is something good about giving somebody something nice to eat.

"It's therapeutic and that was the big shock on MasterChef - I suddenly realised I did it to chill out. Then they put a clock on you in a strange kitchen with secret ingredients and experts watching your every move!

"The first thing John Torode said to me was 'that's not the way you chop an onion' and I thought, 'Oh dear, I'm in trouble'.

"It was nerves but I like to think I recovered from that point."

Celebrity MasterChef is on BBC1, 8pm on Wednesday and Thursday and 8.30pm Friday.