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Executive Producer, Martha Delap, explains the process of filming new series Celebrity Best Home Cook, during the coronavirus pandemic.

Celebrity Best Home Cook went into production in January 2020 with a small team working from the Keo Films offices in London. While we sat at our desks, within touching distance of each other, working on a new and exciting version of the existing home cooking competition show; little did we know what was around the corner.

As the global pandemic spread it soon became clear that – as for so many Brits - COVID was going to impact the way we live and the way we work. Prioritising the wellbeing and safety of our team is always our priority, so we quickly introduced ourselves to Microsoft Teams and Zoom and we moved to remote working. But as the country was put into lockdown, and the TV industry shut down, we realised that our May shoot would not happen as planned.

The next few months of lockdown were spent working closely with industry health and safety advisors putting together robust production protocols which would prioritise keeping our production team, talent, cast and crew as safe as possible. The best option for us proved to be committing to a socially distanced production – on-and off-screen - and we set to work making that possible.

We already had a stunning Best Home Cook set, but the footprint wasn’t big enough for 10 celebrity cooks, 3 judges and 1 presenter to be filmed by our crew and for everyone to remain 2m apart. So, the first thing we did was build an extension. That came in the form of two new spaces for the judges; a mezzanine floor overlooking the kitchens, giving the judges a wonderful view of the action below and a comfortable seating area where they could discuss what they'd seen. Beneath the mezzanine we created the tasting room, with a separate table and chair for each judge where they could taste and give their verdict on every dish whilst maintaining their distance. By giving the judges their own dedicated area, we created more space to spread out the cooks’ kitchen benches across the whole of the floor, making it possible for everyone to move around safely at all times.

While we were finalising the details of the main studio shoot in the Celebrity Best Home Cook kitchen, we already had a small team creating backstory VTs to introduce our celebrity cast. Covid restrictions prevented our team from filming the celebrities inside their homes as planned. So instead, our wonderful cast and their families agreed to film themselves on mobile phones – the perfect Covid-safe solution! We’re delighted with this user generated footage, which the celebrities continued to create throughout the series. It gives us a real sense of how the celebrities were feeling at the beginning and end of every day, and a small window into their home lives – pets and cheeky children included.

By the time we were ready to start rolling the cameras on the first full day of episode 1, the protocols had kicked into another level of detail. We couldn’t leave anything to chance. Everyone on screen and the core crew all had to have two negative PCR COVID tests to be allowed on set. The PCR testing regime continued for the duration of the shoot, with testing every three days – our wonderful on-site medic got to know us all very well! In addition, we set up one-way systems around the studio, daily temperature checks, colour coded zoned areas in the studio that were assigned to different teams, hand sanitising stations, an online ordering system for catering, and even individual perspex dining pods. As an additional precaution all off-camera staff wore masks, and to ensure that no-one could forget that they had to keep 2m from another person wherever possible, our Covid supervisor was ever present with firm words and a 2m stick! Due to all these controls we were also able to set up a small number of close contact cohorts within the crew who were permitted to work a less than 2m when absolutely necessary.

There is one person above all who deserves a mention for her commitment to the series – Dame Mary Berry. Mary was determined that Covid was not going to get in the way of her being as integral to the series as ever, and for that we are so thankful. From the judges’ special vantage point on the mezzanine, Mary had the best view of the kitchen, and with her opera glasses she missed nothing. A fact that the cooks were well aware of and that caused many a nervous reaction – “You’re spying on me, Mary!” was frequently heard across the kitchen.

Making this series wasn’t easy, Covid threw something brand new at us all. We were nervous about filming under these restrictions, but we had no reason to be. The cast, the judges and particularly Claudia embraced the awkwardness of Covid and really made it work for us – they had fun with it, took the mickey out of the situation and as a result the shows doesn't feel distanced at all - you would barely notice the protocols.

We’re incredibly proud of our achievement making this series. Most importantly, we kept everyone healthy and safe. But we also created a series that’s warm, playful, full of delicious home cooking and that will hopefully put a smile on everyone’s face at a point where that’s exactly what we all need.

We are ever grateful to Dame Mary Berry, Angela Hartnett, Chris Bavin and Claudia Winkleman, to our talented, fun and patient cast and an incredible team. It’s a shoot and a series that none of us will ever forget. We really hope you enjoy it.

Celebrity Best Home Cook, Tuesday and Wednesday nights from 26th January at 9pm on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ One and iPlayer.