The owner of a Perth salon will switch his cutters for cutlery in the new series of Come Dine With Me.
Stephen McCartney, who runs The Cutting Room on Cow Vennel, will appear on the Channel 4 show from Monday, March 4.
The 54-year-old from West Kinfauns said: “I didn’t actually want to apply. I watch the show but it was never on my radar to go on it at all.
“One of the staff put in our group chat that they were looking for people in the area and they attached the link.
“We all thought it would be a laugh, I thought the girls were going to apply as well.
“I got home one night, clicked on the link and put my details in.
“It was asking for photos and videos and I was like: ‘I can’t be bothered with that’, so I just came out of it.
“I then got a phone call from the producers saying they would be interested in having me on the show and it snowballed from there. It was a good laugh.”
Although he wouldn’t share what he made for his guests, Stephen is confident in his cooking skills.
He said: “Before I went into hairdressing I was going to go into catering. I have always enjoyed cooking; I wouldn’t say I’m bad.
“I really enjoy making traditional dishes; rich, hearty food. The staff are all coming down for a carvery one afternoon in a couple of weeks.
“It’s nice, as their boss, seeing that they want to spend time with me. I mean, they’re getting a free meal so they’ll be happy.
“We have a couple of staff barbecues every year and if we ever have food leftover I’ll take it to the salon for them to have.”
Come Dine With Me episode filmed in August 2022
Stephen revealed that the filming took place in August 2022.
He said: “They gave me a call this week to confirm the date and apologised for it taking so long.
“I think with the Queen’s death and other things going on they had to push a lot of stuff back.
“The last series they released was when it was during the pandemic and everyone was in stately homes.
“We were the first group filmed when everything was back to normal.”
Perth salon owner Stephen McCartney enjoyed show experience
In the show, Stephen competes for the £1,000 cash prize with four other contestants, all from the Tayside area.
He said: “The furthest was Arbroath. The rest were from Carnoustie, Dundee and Strathallan.
“I was lucky with the group I had, we had a really good laugh. People weren’t arguing and it was a fun experience.
“We’ve even met after filming and we’re planning on meeting up again soon.”
When asked if he would like to appear on shows such as Masterchef, Stephen answered: “Definitely not, I’m not of that calibre. That would be just another level of stress.
“I’ve been cutting hair for 37 years now, I’m a hairdresser through and through now.”
You’ll be able to catch Stephen’s episodes each day of the week at 6pm.
Conversation