Al Murray
Aged 35
Stand-up comedian
Al Murray is best known for his character 'The Pub Landlord', an English nationalist with a dislike for anything un-British, and initially Al thought this show had been named in his honour.
"I thought it was called Al's Kitchen. I thought my name was in the title so I'm confused as to exactly why I'm here."
Al admits to not being interested in cooking but he does turn out good straightforward dishes at home for his wife and two small children.
"I'm quite conservative and cook roasts, chops, y'know, normal, well what I like to call normal food."
Al admits to already feeling Gordon's influence in the kitchen:
"Yesterday I went home and cooked supper and thought about it the whole time and that was after a day of training with Gordon. It was like having an electric wire socket up your backside."
Al's 'Pub Landlord' character won the Perrier Award at The Edinburgh Festival, starred in his sitcom 'Time Gentlemen Please', celebrated sell out tours and performed in front of the Queen at this year's Royal Variety Performance. In contrast to the characters he plays, Al went to boarding school and read history at Oxford University.
Ultimately Al has an ulterior motive for appearing in Hell's Kitchen; so that he can skip the long waiting list to eat in Gordon's top eateries! |
