A POOLE vet has taken part in the popular television dinner party contest Come Dine with Me.

Henry Feilden, of Poole Road Veterinary Surgery, described his experience on the programme as “once in a lifetime”.

He was one of five complete strangers who took turns to host a three-course dinner, scored out of ten by the other guests on the taxi ride home.

The other diners competing in the show are Adie Hough, from Christchurch - well known to customers at Soho and the Boathouse - Jackie Hartless, from Bournemouth, Pippa Latimer-Harris, from the New Forest, and Simone Julien, from Bournemouth.

At the end of the competition, the host with the most points scooped a £1,000 cash prize.

Henry said he designed an “uncomplicated and straightforward” menu to serve his guests but added: “I think the meals lost significance as the week went on. The scoring was based on the overall entertainment and how the evening went.

“We were a diverse group of people, and there were some interesting characters. One of them, funnily enough, turned out to be one of my clients. We got on well as a group, although I was the troublemaker. They didn’t know if I was serious or not until they got to know me. But it all stayed quite light-hearted."

Henry said the experience was "competitive" but "enjoyable".

He added the group had stayed in touch and had even met up for dinner since filming finished.

He said on his day to host, food preparations started early, with the day's filming not finishing until around 2am.

“On my day, everything was totally tied up with filming – food was prepared in the morning and sorted by 4pm. Then the crew filmed the guests arriving.

“We spent 50 hours together over the course of the week. It was so unusual. You didn’t notice the cameras after a while, and you’re made to feel important by the crew – there’s a bit of a celebrity feel to it.

“The crew seemed to like us. They thought what we did was one of the best ever.

“I’m excited to see how the programme looks when it airs.”

To find out how Henry and the rest of the group get on in Come Dine with Me, tune it to Channel 4 at 4.30pm on Monday, November 7.