Wigan Great British Bake-off winner trades buns for The Bard

The TV chef, who runs a cookery school in his home village of Wrightington, will play Duke Orsino in the company’s forthcoming production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.

Appropriately his first line - and indeed the first line of the play - is the immortal “If music be the food of love, play on”!

Swapping the kitchen for the stage isn’t such a shock departure for the 30-year-old who was involved in school and amateur dramatics from an early age through to leaving Winstanley College 12 years ago.

But there had been a big theatrical lull thereafter when his education and career trajectories took dramatic changes of direction.

John said: “I’ve always loved acting. Ever since I played the Magic Mirror in a Chorley Theatre production when I was four, holding up this big piece of wood for an hour, I was smitten.

“I joined the Say Two (previously C’est Tous) Theatre Company in Leyland and did loads of productions which took up a lot of time.

“I remember being given time off school by my teacher at Bishop Rawstorne School so I could be in Macbeth which was very encouraging and accommodating of him.

“Then I did AS-level drama at Winstanley, being involved in many more shows including We Will Rock You and Crazy For You. On the back of all that I did an audition for the Guildford School of Acting. But it wasn’t to be.

“I got an offer to study mediaeval and modern languages at Oxford but dropped out and ended up reading law at Manchester University instead.

“All that knocked my confidence and I didn’t do any acting for years after that until a friend mentioned that Orsino’s role was up for grabs at Wigan Little Theatre and I went for the audition.”

In those intervening years of course, John’s other hobby of cookery launched him into stardom when he won the third series of Bake-Off in 2012.

Subsequently he appeared on several TV shows, for four years being the resident baker on daytime hit Lorraine, and has written several cookery books.

But he says his life has entered a new phase now adding: “I’m back in the North West and am happy in my little bubble. TV-wise there are bits and bobs - I cooked a cake for a monkey on a Channel 5 show coming out later this year!

“But I am focusing on my cookery school and now I have got the acting. Cookery turned from a hobby into a career so now I am revisting another hobby - not with the intention of becoming a professional actor or anything, but just because I love it. I will definitely do more plays with WLT and maybe there will be other acting opportunities too.

“WLT are a close knit little family and many of the cast around me are professionals which is great.

“Everyone takes it seriously, as they should: taking it seriously means you get better results. And I love Shakespeare - he is so witty.

“Because it’s been such a manic eight years since Bake-Off, I’ve never really done much for myself - which is where the acting comes in. I’m so looking forward to this new production.”

Directed by Martin Green, Twelfth Night runs at WLT from February 26 to March 7. Tickets are available online www.wiganlittletheatre.co.uk at the box office or by telephone on 01942 242561 between 7pm and 9pm and the Friday, Monday and Tuesday before and throughout productions.