Celebrity TV chef, Simon Rimmer, has admitted that his six week stint on Strictly Come Dancing changed his life forever - and in the most positive way.
The Sunday Brunch presenter, 60, who has been at the helm of the Channel 4 show alongside co-host Tim Lovejoy, 55, for the past 17 years, and has an incredibly successful cooking career under his belt with restaurants up and down the country.
Away from the kitchen, it's been six long years since Simon swapped the frying pans for the dance floor as he took part in Strictly Come Dancing back in 2017.
The TV chef admits that he couldn't dance on the show - and insists he still can't dance, but being a part of the production changed his life in a way that he could have never foreseen.
Simon, who was partnered up with professional dancer Karen Clifton before the pair were voted out in week six, exclusively told The Mirror that appearing on Strictly Come Dancing was one of the best things he has done in his life, because the experience pushed him out of his comfort zone, and still does to this day.
"I can't dance - I think that was pretty obvious on the show. But when I got asked to do it, I was in a place in my life where I really felt I needed to push myself out of my comfort zone. I think the older we get, the less likely we are to want to do things that scare us and push us to move out of our comfort zone," Simon explained.
"But in the end it didn't matter that I couldn't dance. It was just great. It was such a positive experience. I think the biggest thing I learned was that over the years, I have shied away from pushing myself too much out of my comfort zone - but now I constantly am pushing myself further, and that's all on the back of Strictly.
"Strictly was an amazing experience in my life. I think that anyone who gets the opportunity to do it, they should jump at it and embrace it - it's such a positive thing. I loved every minute of it."
Lifting the lid on how he first fell in love with cooking all those years ago, Simon said that it was his 'foolish' bravery that lead him to where he is today as a successful celebrity chef.
"I was studying design, but I think there was always an itch that needed scratching when it came to cooking. I worked for five years as a freelance designer, and I enjoyed it, but there was always that little nag so in 1990, I just made the big decision and said to myself, 'I'm going to do it', and I opened my first restaurant," Simon explained.
"It was foolish looking back. I had no experience or no knowledge but I think when you're young, you just go for things. I think back in 1990, the industry was nowhere near how sophisticated as it is now, so I got away with being a bit rubbish to be honest. I loved it and I wanted to learn and I wanted to be good."
Although Simon is regarded as one of the favorite celebrity chefs in the UK, alongside the likes of Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay, he never intended on setting his sights on a TV career or becoming famous.
"I never, ever, ever thought that I would end up with my own TV show. It all happened by chance. Basically, I was asked to do something on Granada TV - they were doing a segment on vegetarian food and my first restaurant was veggie. And one of the producers on the show was a customer and she asked me to go on the show and cook something," Simon recalled.
"So, really, I just thought it would be good promotion for the restaurant and business, but it turned out so much more than that. I think because I wasn't trying to be a TV chef, I was just being myself and I kept being asked back to do more. And then little by little, it became a nice second career and over the years, it's become my dream job - it's the best job.
"I just think I'm very lucky to be able to do it and to be able to wake up every day and say I love my job."
Simon has teamed up with Sainsbury's who this week have launched Book-a-BBQ Garden after discovering that a whopping 71% of Brits won't be hosting a BBQ this summer due to lack of space in their homes.
Sainsbury's are now offering customers the opportunity to book a free BBQ space via Design My Night, which are available from today until Saturday, on London's South Bank.
And there's no need to worry about bringing food as Sainsbury's are providing guests with free hampers stocked full of Sainsbury's summer range, which Simon has revealed are 'absolutely delicious'.
This comes as new research from Sainsbury’s reveals that 14% of Brits have never been able to attend a BBQ in their life and one in five have never enjoyed al fresco dining at home, due to a lack of outdoor space.
With less public spaces to host BBQs due to restrictions, the Book-a-BBQ Garden hopes to make the summer activity more accessible for those who might miss out.
Sainsbury’s Book-a-BBQ Garden will take away the stresses that come with hosting, providing a top-notch Weber Spirit gas barbecue to cook on, a delicious hamper of free food to enjoy from the Sainsbury’s summer range and all the essential barbequing tools and tips so that no mistakes are made.
"It's just brilliant - it's an amazing campaign. Obviously, BBQ's make summer so special. If you've never done a BBQ before, there will be people there to help you and share tips with you that you can bring forward into the future and the food is absolutely delicious too - I've tried it all," Simon said.
"Although it's starting in London, I think it would be a great thing that could roll out all over the country in Ipswich and Birmingham or wherever - you can go and have a social barbeque and it's just great."
BBQ fanatic and TV chef Simon Rimmer has teamed up with Sainsbury's to launch the Book-a-BBQ Garden, a first-of-its- kind FREE BBQ space on London's South Bank, open on Thursday 1st until Saturday 3rd June, available to book on Design My Night, here.
