First Dates star Fred Sirieix headed for a curry in Hale as he partied with the stars of his new BBC show on a break from filming here in Manchester. Fred has just announced he is to host the new BBC2 show Master of Ceremonies alongside Dragon's Den star Sara Davies and Manchester events boss Raj Somaiya.
And all three looked in high spirits as they headed to Raj's Hale hotspot Gupshup to sample the pan-Indian cuisine there on Thursday night. The Ashley Road eaterie has been grabbing headlines recently after Love Island star Molly-Mae Hague hailed it her favourite spot for a curry.
And French Maitre D' extraordinaire Fred looked impressed as he tucked into a feast of goodies alongside Sara and Raj at the Hale restaurant. Stunned diners watched on as the new pals enjoyed their night out - and they also posed for some selfies for fans along the way.
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The trio are together to host the new BBC show which will see eight wedding planners battle it out to prove they are Britain's next best wedding expert. The wedding planners will be tasked with designing the most extraordinary ceremonies for six couples about to tie the knot.
Silver Fox Events boss Raj, who famously starred in Channel 4's My Big Fat Asian Wedding series, knows all about lavish weddings having planned some of the world's most extraordinary ceremonies. He announced his involvement in the new show alongside Fred and Strictly Come Dancing star Sara this week.
Raj wrote: "It's been so hard to keep this quiet, I have been filming a top secret show with BBC Two alongside Sara Davies and Fred Sirieix. Master of Ceremonies is a show like no other.
"Not only does it have the potential to change our wedding planners' lives and elevate their careers but at the heart of it is couples hoping for the best day of their lives.
"I'm looking for creativity, lateral thinking and the ability to deliver that personal tour for our couples." The trio appeared to be filming new scenes for the show here in Manchester this week.
And Raj seemed keen to welcome his new co-stars to his neighbourhood eaterie that he first launched in Hale just before lockdown in 2019. Since then it has become something of a hot spot in the village.
The restaurant boasts a menu of Pan-Indian cuisine, and its acclaimed head chef Ashwani Rangta was recently seen on the BBC's Great British Menu. It's based inside the former Natwest Bank on the main Ashley Road in Hale.
Indeed, it's proving so popular at weekends that reality star Molly-Mae took to Instagram last month to tell her followers she loves their curries so much she event sits at the bar when she can't get a table reservation. She recently moved to a new £4m mansion with her boyfriend, boxer Tommy Fury in Cheshire.
She told fans how she was heading out for a curry. She said: "I've convinced Tommy so kindly he's going to take me for a curry, if you live in the Cheshire area where we live, there's an Indian place called Gupshup.
"I don't want to say it because I feel like maybe if I tell you guys how good it is it might suddenly get completely booked out to the point where we can't even get a reservation.
"Even tonight we can't get a reservation, they've said we can come but you have to sit at the bar. I've said listen, for the curry, I will sit at the bar I'm not bothered."
She went on to share her selection at the restaurant of butter chicken, rice and truffled naan bread. The restaurant is the brainchild of well-known events entrepreneur Raj Somaiya and wife Sheetal.
Silver Fox Events boss Raj previously told the MEN about the idea behind launching a restaurant. He said: "Because of our events company, we've dined at some of the best Indian restaurants in London and we thought why can't we bring the feel of that kind of restaurant to Manchester?
"We know about Indian food because we've been doing outdoor catering for about 25 years with the wedding and events business.
"We wanted to keep the food real, but we decided on Pan-Indian to represent all the different dishes from all the different States of India. We didn't want to try and make it Michelin-standard or too fussy, we wanted it to be great butter chicken, shish kebabs, rogan josh, but beautifully made with great produce.
"We aim to be 'rapid fine dining' with great food and great vibes but not awfully expensive so it's accessible to everybody." The menu features classic curries as well as street food twists like "naanwich" and chicken tikka burgers.
Raj added: "Gupshup means gossip or chat in Indian and it seemed like the perfect name for the restaurant - as that's exactly what you want to do when you go out with friends to a restaurant."
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