ACTOR Stephen Tompkinson’s latest voice-over gig couldn’t be sweeter.

The DCI Banks star – who loves baking cupcakes with his daughter, cites caramel as his “big foible” and races his dad to the best treats in the chocolate box – has the enviable task of narrating Choccywoccydoodah: Starstruck, which returns to screens this month.

Now in its second series, it follows the team as they take on weird and wonderful cake commissions for celebrities, including Sir Richard Branson, the late Joan Rivers, and rapper Tinie Tempah.

The first time Tompkinson met “the two Christines” (shop founders Christine Taylor and Christine Garrett) in the firm’s London flagship store, he took his 13-year-old daughter, Daisy, along.

“Their meeting room, which is called the ‘Secret Room’, is like a Willy Wonka meets Alice In Wonderland-inspired room with lots of little secret doors and little spy holes to look through. They put out an amazing display of cakes and milkshakes and all sorts. Daisy’s eyes were on stalks,” the Wild At Heart star recalls.

“They gave her two canvas bags and said, ‘Just walk around the shop and help yourself to anything’. It was like a child’s dream come true.

Series two of the star-studded show will also feature an order from Wesley Snipes, who wanted an action-packed cake with explosion scenes to celebrate the release of The Expendables 3, and mind control maestro Derren Brown, who wanted the cake itself to be an illusion.

Brown’s commission was Tompkinson’s favourite of the series. “They took a lot of his favourite things – Victoriana, birds and things you would normally find under a glass globe, stuffed like a Victorian exhibit. But when you shone a light on it from a certain angle onto a back wall, there was the outline of a sort of satanic figure.”

Want to try some Choccywoccydoodah recipes at home? Here are three simple sweet treats – chocs ahoy!

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER MILKSHAKE (Serves 2)

2 large scoops chocolate ice cream

2 bananas

2tbsp smooth peanut butter

250ml milk

Whizz all of the ingredients around in a blender, adding more or less milk depending on how thick you like it.

Serve in a tall glass with two big straws.

CHOCOLATE MERINGUES (Makes 8-10)

2 egg whites

100g caster sugar

2tbsp cocoa

75g roasted almonds, roughly chopped

50g milk

white or dark chocolate, chopped

Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.

Whisk the egg whites until they resemble stiff peaks. Gradually whisk in the sugar, a spoonful at a time.

Fold in the cocoa and almonds, reserving a few nuts for topping the ‘rocks’.

Put small spoonfuls of the mixture on a baking tray lined with parchment paper or a heatproof Teflon mat. Bake for about 15 minutes until set, and then leave to cool on the tray.

Melt the chocolate in a bowl, and using a piping bag or fork, drizzle the rocks with melted chocolate. Scatter with the reserved nuts.

INDULGENT CHOCCY TOAST (Serves 4-6)

1 French stick, split down its length

1 x 340g jar peanut butter

1tsp cinnamon

3 bananas,

sliced 250g milk or dark chocolate buttons

Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5.

Spread the peanut butter over two halves of the French stick and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Cover the peanut butter with sliced bananas and generously dot with chocolate buttons.

Using a sharp knife, cut the French stick into four to six pieces, and wrap each one in foil before transferring to a baking tray.

Bake for 10-15 minutes – take care when opening each package as the chocolate topping will be hot. Serve straight away.

  • Choccywoccydoodah: Starstruck, begins on Watch on Thursday, September 18