THEY earn a living by putting other people in the media spotlight. But now Jackie Phillipson and Richard Blunderfield are set to have their first taste of stardom in Channel 4’s hit TV show, Couples Come Dine with Me.

The husband and wife PR team from Wimborne, will be competing against two other couples Ross Stallion and Hanne Basson from Bournemouth, and Gail Meaker and Nigel Crabbe from the New Forest, for the £1,000 prize money.

Jackie told the Echo: “We absolutely love the show and we did it to have fun. Dave Lamb, the narrator, always takes the mickey out of the contestants but we’re happy to take it on the chin. We love what we do for a living but we don’t take ourselves too seriously!”

Although Jackie usually does the cooking at home, the couple had to prepare a three course meal together.

“Richard prefers to be the host at a dinner party so I wasn’t used to having him in the kitchen with me. He’s bossy and so am I, so it was bit of a challenge! He follows a recipe with military precision while I add things as I go along so no two meals are ever the same."

Richard admitted he was nervous about the programme which will be broadcast at 5pm on Friday.

“Usually we’re the ones advising people on what to wear and what to say, so it was very different to be on the other side of it all. We have no idea how it has been edited.

“We’re either going to have no clients left and all our friends will hate us after this, or we are going to have more business than we can throw a stick at!”

Jackie said although filming took longer than they anticipated, they had thoroughly enjoyed the experience of being in front of the camera lens.

“We got on well with the other couples and after a while you forget about the TV cameras."

She added: "We’ve been described in the TV guide as the posh PR couple, which made me laugh because we’re not posh at all, we’re very down to earth so I’m not sure what spin they’ve put on it. We will just have to wait and see!"

To find out if Richard and Jackie have the recipe for success, tune it to Channel 4 at 5pm on May 15.