A Darwen woman is set to reappear on MasterChef and she has her sights set on the trophy.
This year, she will join four other contestants for ‘comeback week’ who are returning to the cooking competition to try their luck again.
A quarter-final place awaits those who outperform the others across two tough challenges.
The personal trainer said: “I first appeared on MasterChef in 2023, I got an apron! It was all going well until I had a disaster with my chocolate tart!”
Cliodhna, who was born in Oswaldtwistle, said she enjoys making “mood food”.
She said: “I make mood food! My cooking style varies depending on what I’m in the mood for. I take inspiration from seasonality and locality.
"Rick Stein (chef and restauranteur) is also an inspiration from when I would visit my auntie in St Ives.”
Cliodhna said her mum Jackie Jackson, who owns Bullough’s Sandwich Bar and Eatery, in Accrington, is her inspiration.
She said: “My mum is a huge inspiration, she cooked everything from scratch, and I loved to get involved, I remember being on the kitchen countertop, peeling garlic for her homemade lasagne.”
Cliodhna said she felt more pressure in the MasterChef kitchen this time around.
She said: “This time I felt much more pressure! I wanted to exceed what I’d previously done and prove to myself I was worthy of a place on MasterChef. I felt that I had a lot more to give than last time.
“Since I was last on the show, I am a lot happier. A lot has changed! I met my boyfriend a few months after the show aired and, fortunately, he loves food. He’s my biggest supporter and fan (after my mum!)
“I’ve become more confident in my cooking skills and experiment more with ingredients and techniques I wouldn’t have before. People are always asking me to cook for them now, so I have plenty of them to practice on!”
Cliodhna said she has many cooking dreams – including having her own food slot on a television show.
She said: “My food dream is to be a roadie chef to Sam Fender! I’d also like to do pop-ups and food festivals around the country. I think a food slot on a TV show would also be amazing too.”
Watch the tenth heat on BBC iPlayer from 30 April and BBC One on 2 May at 9pm.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here