The unmistakable voice behind the Come Dine With Me camera – Dave Lamb – tells Gina Schauffer what he really thinks of the cult show that highlights dinner party disasters across the country
I think it's been on for about four or five years. I just went for an audition; they'd recorded a pilot and Channel 4 said the voiceover was a bit formal and sensible, so they auditioned people to be a bit more light hearted – without being too over the top. I think if I’d auditioned for it with how I do it now, I wouldn't have got the job. They would’ve gone 'that's far too big, you can't do it like that'! But they offered it to me and I'm really glad I took it. It’s a really watchable format. I often miss my cues doing the voiceover just by watching it. It's so easy to get wrapped up in it.
And they don't like cheating! These tactical markings are the scourge of the reality TV industry...
It's not showing any signs of wearing thin. It's getting better and better.
I think people just seem to be getting more and more bonkers! And that's brilliant. They choose people really well – it's a really good melting pot and it just works so well.
Well we eat very well at home, because my wife's a chef. I actually think we're having mallard at the weekend! [Laughs] I like everything really. But I quite often think on the show 'ooh that looks nice' or 'God, that looks appalling'. I do feel sorry for people who have to eat something they really hate, because there is nothing worse than if you can't abide the taste of something and having to force it down. Interestingly, there are more and more vegetarians coming on the show who are cooking meat, although they're not eating it themselves.
I had a little part in Doc Martin, because I’m an actor too – about four years ago. I'm doing Moving Wallpaper at the moment; I play one of the writers. I was the token white bloke in Goodness Gracious Me, the Asian comedy sketch show, so I played all the white parts – except the most famous one, 'Going for an English'. But I did do that in Wembley Arena, for the Amnesty International gig – which was terrifying. I used to be in a sketch show called The Cheese Shop, we were all doing the Edinburgh Festival about the same time – The League of Gentlemen, the Mighty Boosh, Armstrong and Miller – and then they all became enormous!
I'm training for the London Marathon at the moment – that’s my thing. I’m 40 this year and you want to just tick off one of those things and go 'I've done it'. It's been a slow burner; it's crept over me suddenly – for years I'd been comfortable with the fact that I'd never have to run a marathon, and then gradually, at 38, in the back of my head a little idea came and I thought 'oh God, I'm going to have to do it'. (Support Dave Lamb's London Marathon efforts at www.justgiving/davelamb1.)
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