‘Someone served sushi off a guy’s naked chest!’ How we made Come Dine With Me

Nell Butler, creatorIt all started in the early 00s when I tried to throw a dinner party. I was an executive producer during the early days of reality TV – and a house-proud young mum. My posh cousin and her even posher husband came for a meal. I was rushing to get the kids to bed and tidy up, so the food was an afterthought. I’d never made couscous before but decided to serve it with chicken. It was awful. Dry chicken with congealed couscous. At one point, my cousin’s husband stuck his fork in this rock-solid lump, lifted it up and said, “What actually is this?”When they left, my husband slumped in his chair and said, “I’d give that a three.” I thought there was something funny about scoring somebody’s hosting skills. Everyone leaves those terrible evenings and dissects it with their partner. I came up with the idea of groups of strangers taking it in turns to host, competing for a cash prize. I pitched it as Ladies Who Lunch, with a Real Housewives vibe. ITV rejected it but Channel 4 daytime were interested. They massively improved it by insisting it should be dinner and everyone had to be a decent cook.