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Wolverhampton chef Fran loses Come Dine with Me winnings

Italian chef Francesco Ceccarelli made history on Come Dine With Me in Wolverhampton by having his winnings taken off him – after he lied to fellow diners.

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Italian chef Francesco Ceccarelli made history on Come Dine With Me in Wolverhampton by having his winnings taken off him – after he lied to fellow diners.

The 33-year-old, known as Fran, who runs Wombourne's Cafe Paradiso, initially came in first place after impressing his fellow contestants with fine Italian dishes.

But he told fellow contestants he was a restaurant manager rather than admitting he was actually head chef.

With a guilty conscience, he confessed all a few days later and the father-of-two ended up with a paltry nine points following a swift re-judging, meaning he had to hand back his £1,000 winnings.

His fellow diners, traditionalist Deborah Green, 62, do-gooder Nick Bassett, 33, and 31-year-old tattooist Kat Whyton were not impressed.

Mrs Green even described herself as "mortally disappointed" and awarded him the rock-bottom score of 0.

Luckily for her though, the re-judging saw her and tattooed Kat leap to joint first place in last night's Channel Four show.

"In the end, a girl from Wolverhampton beat a chef," former Codsall High student Kat declared triumphantly, winnings in hand. The show, filmed in the Black Country around Christmas, featured some local specialities, incuding faggots and black pudding in pastry.

Wolverhampton was also given a good showing, with shots of St Peter's Church, the city centre fountain and the Wolverhampton Books and Collectables shop.

Compared to other occasions when the show has been in Wolverhampton, the contestants got on like a house on fire, despite the controversial conclusion.

Only youth worker Nick caused a few ripples with his incessant chatter – but all was forgiven when he revealed a secret pub at the bottom of his garden.

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