Come Dine With Me in Wolverhampton

Regular viewers of popular TV cooking contest Come Dine With Me will spot some familiar faces this week as the show returns to the Midlands.

The contestants – traditionalist Deborah Green, tattoo-lover Kat Whyton, community worker Nick Bassett, and Italian restaurateur Francesco Ceccarelli – will go head-to-head for the Wolverhampton-based show on Friday.

The contestants are staying tight-lipped over what happens during the show but Mr Ceccarelli, who runs the Cafe Paradiso in Wombourne said viewers would be treated to a "dramatic twist."

The 33-year-old, who came to England in 1998, said: "I really enjoyed it and I loved the people. There weren't any arguments."

Mr Ceccarelli, a self-confessed food lover, said he didn't yet know what his fellow contestants had said to the camera but added he wasn't nervous about the programme. The father-of-two, who has ran his restaurant in Wombourne for more than seven years, said: "I cooked a traditional Italian meal and that's all I am going to say.

"Over those four days there was lots of wine consumed.

"I counted between 20 and 25 bottles of wine plus the beer and lager over the four nights, between four people, so we did enjoy ourselves." Although he can't reveal too much about the show, in advance of the episode Channel 4 have said it will feature "some raw chicken, hidden agendas and a dramatic final twist to proceedings."

During filming, the contestants all dropped in to some of the city's most unusual attractions to show off the area – including the quaint Wolverhampton Books and Collectables shop in Victoria Street.

Shop owner David Wilsden said his unique operation had been spotted by programme-makers, and when they contacted him he jumped at the chance to appear on the cult TV show.

"I have only seen bits of it, but I know people who love it and watch it particularly for the narrator," said the 41-year-old antiques enthusiast, of Cardiff Street, Penn Fields.

"I will definitely be watching it this week though, I'm looking forward to it. It seemed like a great chance to show what we do here and what we have to offer.

"They interviewed two of the contestants inside the shop and they even bought a few bits of sports memorabilia.

"Most people find something that interests them or that they remember from their childhood. They all said they really liked it.

"It will probably only be a few seconds on the screen but it's still something special."

The hour-long show - which promises an ambitious around-the-world menu, a helping of raw chicken and cold jerk lamb, a few rude remarks, some hidden agendas and an unexpected twist at the end – will be shown at 8pm on Channel 4.