Sam Nixon nearly cracked on Celebrity MasterChef

Celebrity MasterChef finalist Sam Nixon has revealed he thought he’d blown his culinary chances.

Sam had early-life plans to be a chef and reckoned a spell at catering college could give him an edge.

But the Pop Idol star-turned-kids presenter says his nerve cracked in the show’s heats.

“My first couple of challenges were pretty dodgy and that really knocked my confidence,” Sam, 29, told The Sunday Post.

“You go in there thinking you can cook and the pressure just got to me.

“The very first thing was an invention test and my mind just totally went blank.

“I’m passionate about food and MasterChef is the king of all cookery shows so I suppose it was just nerves because I wanted to do well.

“I was so disappointed with myself and frankly I was surprised to still be around for the final.

“I was only at catering college in Barnsley for about eight months but I really did think the basics I picked up would have helped until it all went out the window!”

The more Sam progressed, the more the heat was cranked up. And the stresses and strains started to hit him at home as well as the famous MasterChef kitchen.

He and ex-CBBC presenter wife Anne Foy have a daughter, Meridon, and domestic and fatherly duties vied for time with rehearsing his culinary creations.

“Meridon just turned nine months so she was really young when we were filming,” explains Sam.

“The practicing at home was actually the hardest bit. Anne was amazing and really supportive but I remember one day when she was away on a course and I was looking after Meridon.

“It was the only day I had to practice this certain dish and, of course, you have to do it in a certain time.

“My daughter used to have a two-hour nap in the afternoon and I legged it downstairs and cooked like mad, fearing she’d wake up at any time.”

Sam admits that being a dad tops anything else and he’s as gushing as any new father with the topic of conversation now the apple of his eye.

“I don’t think anyone can prepare you for this.

“We planned it, we’d been married for a year and felt it was the right time to start trying. But when she came along everything was different and it’s been this crazy rollercoaster of emotions ever since.

“The past nine months have been amazing, though, and it’s been worth every single bit of worry and anxiety that you have.”

Sam’s catering plans came to a sudden halt when Pop Idol came calling and he says his life took off in a whole different direction.

He finished third in 2003 and subsequently had a couple of hits as Sam & Mark with presenting buddy Mark Rhodes.

Music, he admits, has taken a back seat to his kids’ show duties.

“It’s really on the back burner,” says Sam. “Anything I do is for fun.

“My mum and dad celebrated their ruby wedding anniversary last weekend and were renewing their vows.

“So we put together a family band which was just a fun thing to do.

“Obviously music was a passion of mine and I went on Pop Idol for a reason.

“I wanted to be a singer and when Mark and I started working together that was still my aim.

“But it all changed the more presenting we did.

“We thought that if we wanted to continue working in this industry this was the way to go.

“Thankfully CBBC were loyal to us and it’s been 10 years now.”

MasterChef isn’t Sam’s only reality show adventure, having done well on Dancing On Ice in 2012.

So, what’s tougher?

“Tricky,” he smiles.

“As a complete novice, getting those skates on was probably the harder thing.

“But because cooking means so much to me, I piled the pressure on myself.”

Celebrity MasterChef The Final Week, Thursday, 9pm, and Friday, 8.30pm, on BBC 1.