Big Zuu says Mel B is a terrible cook who puts too much turmeric in soup

Big Zuu has said Mel B is a terrible cook who puts too much turmeric in soup as the self-taught chef hits the road again in his food truck.

The 27-year-old rapper, whose real name is Zuhair Hassan, said that while filming for the next series of Big Zuu’s Big Eats with the Spice Girl, whose full name is Melanie Brown, the fryer they were cooking with caught fire.

He was asked about Mel B’s cooking abilities on ITV’s The Jonathan Ross Show, and said: “She’s terrible. She made us soup and she put too much turmeric in it and didn’t saute the veg.”

When he filmed with Mel B, in Leeds, Big Zuu said the wires from his oil fryer also caught on fire due to the wind.

He added: “The wires were on fire so essentially if the flames hit the oil, we would have died – it was at that moment that production said ‘we’ll stop filming now’.”

Big Zuu said that even with a new van, he envies shows filmed in a studio which is “warm” with “no rain, no wind”.

The presenter and TV personality took home two awards during the Bafta TV ceremony in 2022, after his show secured entertainment performance and features gongs.

He said that while he was “freestyling the speech” he needed to look somewhere other than the autocue.

Big Zuu said: “I saw a shiny head – it was Ross Kemp.

“I focused on Ross Kemp’s head and said the speech of my life and then yeah two Baftas. Big up Ross Kemp!”

He was also asked about taking part in Strictly Come Dancing, and said: “I would do Strictly for the scandal – those dancers are buff.”

Ross, 62, also asked his other guest, chef Gordon Ramsay, whether he would do the celebrity dancing competition, which has its final this weekend.

Ramsay said: “I would love to dance but I’ve got a huge problem – I’ve got size 15 feet. (His daughter) Tilly did it last year and she was amazing. I don’t know. Those dancers are amazing. I’d love to learn how to dance properly.”

The 56-year-old is also launching a UK version of his American cookery competition show Next Level Chef on ITV and ITVX next year.

The series follows chefs competing in kitchens stacked on top of each other who try to compete to get to the top floor of the stack.

Ramsay said: “The difference with the show is how quick you have to pivot.

“There is no set agenda or set recipes. You’ve got 40 minutes to cook this amazing dish.”

The Jonathan Ross Show returns on Saturday at 10.05pm with guests Ramsay, Big Zuu, Starstruck and Britain Get Singing judge Adam Lambert, comedian Michael McIntyre and actress Minnie Driver.