'It was unreal': Acting student, 22, to appear on BBC's Young MasterChef

Fifteen contestants all aged between 18 and 25 will battle it out on the BBC cooking show in January, which is a brand new addition to the MasterChef universe.

Nathan Priday, from Leintwardine, is one of the contestants who will fight to be crowned the first ever champion of Young MasterChef.

The 22-year-old fell in love with cooking in his grandparent's kitchen when he was a child and still fosters that passion to this day.

Nathan, who was born in Ludlow, said: "I've always enjoyed watching MasterChef, MasterChef The Professionals, the celebrity versions - so when I saw a Young MasterChef come up I was like 'I've gotta go for it'.

"This is my chance to show what I've got and show what I can do, and hopefully it will open new doors for me."

He added: "I've always been engaged in cooking since a young age. I spent a little bit of my childhood growing up with my grandparents, and Granddad had a little allotment where he would grow his own veg.

"We'd take the stuff that he grew in his garden up to my nan, and we'd make something out of whatever we grew. So, I think that was the starting point where I got my love for food."

Nathan is still a big believer in field to fork, following in his grandparent's footsteps, and his signature style invokes this.

"I like typical British dishes but putting my own twist on them," he said.

"Making these dishes unique to me. That's my style.

"I like Jamie Oliver and his take on British classics and style of healthy eating, but I also love Heston Blumenthal and his version of theatre on a plate."

Describing his time on the show, Nathan said: "It was unreal, if I had to describe it in one word. Unreal.

"It was an experience that not many people can say that they've had before, and just to wear that iconic MasterChef apron and to see that MasterChef logo everywhere - it was just unreal.

"There was pressure in the kitchen but again it's just that experience that you can't say you're going to get every day."

The former Ludlow College student is now treading the boards by studying for a degree in acting at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).

Nathan pours his love of acting into his cooking style, and hopes that one day his two loves can symbiotically forge a new career for him.

"I like the theatrical style of food so I think that translates well with my acting," he said. "To put them together would be the best of both worlds.

"It would be great to have my own TV show or to do that incorporates both cooking and acting. This experience has just opened up new opportunities so we'll see what happens and see where we go from there."

Young MasterChef is on BBC3 and iPlayer in January, with Nathan appearing on the series from Wednesday, January 4.