Diane Carson was right at the heart of many meme-able moments when she took part in The Traitors season 2 in January, from the revelation that she and Ross were secretly mother and son, to her iconic departure and 'funeral' after she was tricked into drinking sparkling rosé from the 'poisoned chalice' by Miles.
Having won the hearts of the nation, Diane returns to our screens this week as a contestant in the fourth and final heat of Celebrity MasterChef 2024 — but will she fare better at wowing John Torode and Gregg Wallace with her culinary skills than she did at unmasking the plotters and schemers in the Scottish highlands?
We caught up with Diane to find out all about her time in the MasterChef kitchen...
Diane Carson interview for Celebrity MasterChef
How did you rate your cooking skills before you signed up for Celebrity MasterChef?
"To be fair, I am probably more of an entertainer than a cook. Now, what I mean by that is I have spent years and years having massive parties for friends, loved ones, surprise parties, things like that — I love having people around to the house and I always have done. I never get worried about things like that, but then again, if I had a house of, say, 60 people and I was making a few lasagnes, I wouldn't be averse to throwing in a jar of Dolmio! So I'm not sure whether that makes me sensible, a dreadful cook, an average cook, or an amazing cook — but there were never any complaints! I just love entertaining, I think there's nothing better than to sit around with friends over a good meal and a couple of nice wines."
What preparation did you do for the competition?
"I have been living in a building site for probably a few years now — we have actually had no kitchen for about a year! I've been sort of living out of a microwave and a makeshift hob/oven thing in a very tiny space of my house. While I was practising for MasterChef, we were actually getting a staircase fitted, and it was about two metres away from where I was working, which is quite funny! I remember hearing one of the guys saying, 'oh my God, I can't clean up all the mess because it'll go in that woman's food!' So that's where I was practising for MasterChef — in the middle of chaos!"
You're in a heat with Strictly's Vito Coppola, Sugababes star Mutya Buena, Radio 2's OJ Borg and Glow Up judge Dominic Skinner. How did you all get along?
"It was like we were all going on an adventure together, and that was amazing! Watching something on TV translates into something quite different when you're actually there, so there's definitely an element of excitement in the atmosphere, but I loved the fact that we were a group."
Your first challenge was the mystery ingredient Under The Cloche task. What was that like?
"I found that very nerve-racking actually — probably more nerve-racking than sitting around the round table at the castle in The Traitors, and that was pretty bad! I did find it tough, but there was such support from the entire group — I definitely felt very supported by everybody and I hope they felt the same from me. The crew were great as well, everybody was lovely on set."
If we were to come to your house for dinner, what would be on the menu?
"I make a very good cucumber mousse as a starter — but I've found out that some of my friends have been politely eating that, because they don't like cucumber and they never told me! That's quite often followed by a lasagne — without Dolmio, I might add! — and the next course would always be my mum's recipe for pavlova, I do a double-chocolate one. I always do a cheeseboard — I know I'm singing my own praises here but I do a phenomenal cheeseboard! It's full of charcuterie, there's cheeses, fruit, quince, all types of crackers; I've now got my friend's recipe for homemade parmesan crackers. And you will always have an Irish coffee to finish off; my dad made the best Irish coffees in the world and I have learnt from the absolute king!"
How did Celebrity MasterChef compare to your expectations?
"It was more nerve-racking than I expected, and I think that was the secret ingredient. I did do research, and I looked up different things that I might have forgotten over the course of not having a kitchen — certain sauces and things, just making sure I remembered them, but I'm a fairly calm person so I didn't expect to feel so stressed! But I really feel we all made a really good team, and I was delighted to have met so many lovely people."
This year must have been a whirlwind for you — what has your life been like post-The Traitors?
"Ha ha! Yeah, slightly nutty, but all very flattering. I now find I'm going to be in a pantomime, and then a three-month touring play next spring. I have told everybody I'm not an actor, but nobody seems to believe me, and we're just going ahead with this! But I believe if you're given an opportunity, you grab it — you only live once, so go for it. It was my children who wanted me to do Celebrity MasterChef, they said 'oh go on, Mum, you've got to' — and I do believe that if things come your way, just give it a go and have a laugh!"
What was it like seeing yourself in so many memes online?
"Well, I think I went on the show completely naively thinking I wouldn't be recognised. I didn't even expect to get on, my kids said I would never get on anything like that, I would never even last a day. So the very fact that I did get on The Traitors and lasted at least halfway through was all super-amazing. And then to be recognised in all these memes and things like that, I'm not on Twitter or TikTok, but friends and family were sending me things, and it's just mental! [laughs] But it's been so much fun, and while it lasts, I will enjoy it!"
Are you still in touch with many of your Traitors castmates?
"Oh yeah, deffo! Like being on Celebrity MasterChef, I did meet some very lovely people — I'm going to meet Tracey and Evie in Scotland on Sunday, which is just fab. And even though Miles 'murdered' me, I see quite a lot of him, and I've met Sonja as she lives round here. So there's a good group that I'm still very friendly with!"
Finally, are you looking forward to seeing your Celebrity MasterChef episodes when they air?
"Honestly, if you have a family like ours, we watch so many family videos on TV as a group, so I don't think you even think about the public as such, you just think about having a laugh and watching yourself on TV with the family. So I think that every time I watch myself on TV, I maintain a sense of humour!"
- This week's Celebrity MasterChef heats air on BBC1 on Tuesday September 3 and Thursday September 5 at 8pm, and Friday September 6 at 9.05pm. Catch up on the series so far on BBC iPlayer.
