Paddick: 'Come Dine' was traumatic'

Brian Paddick has described his Come Dine With Me appearance as one of the most traumatic experiences of his life.

The Lib Dem card carrier, who ran as the party's candidate for London Mayor, took part in a political special of the Channel 4 programme with former Tory MP Edwina Currie, Labour Party member Derek Hatton and Rod Liddle, who has previously worked as a speechwriter and researcher for the Labour Party.

Writing in The Mail On Sunday, the former Metropolitan police officer said Liddle's "crimson-faced, spittle-flecked abuse" was worse than anything he saw as a police officer. Currie, he said, was "smutty" and had a lavatorial sense of humour, while Hatton shouted and swore at his guests.

Paddick said that the four-day torment resulted in "the most hate-filled, ill-tempered edition of Come Dine With Me that the crew have worked on in the programme's five-year history".

"I had believed Edwina to be far more sophisticated, while I'd never imagined Rod was going to be such an unpleasant bully. Of the three, Derek was probably the least offensive, but I still found it hard to believe how much he'd sold out," he said. "During the London mayoral campaign, I did TV debates with Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson. They were a walk in the park compared with this lot."

The Come Dine With Me Election Night Special is part of Channel 4's Alternative Election Night and will be shown on May 6 at 9pm.