The Entertainers - Christine Rutter talks with television chef ANDREW NUTTER

FOR Andrew Nutter, life is never going to be the same again.

A few years ago he could slip unnoticed into his restaurant in his trademark wacky waistcoat. No heads turned. No demands were made on his time to pose for snaps with fans or sign autographs.

He could appreciate the pleasures of anonymity. No-one, except his family and friends, cared what he did.

But at just 25 years of age, the life of the zany chef, who is the resident cook on Granada Tonight and has a new show in the pipeline, has been turned upside down.

No longer can he dine in peace at a local restaurant without chefs and diners clamouring for his signature, nor can he dance the night away in a nightclub without being hassled for cooking tips.

And if that isn't bad enough he even got accosted in the street by a gang of eager girls who recognised him and proceeded to try to take his clothes off!.

So it's hard to accept that this sort of attention doesn't get to the young chef's head.

But it doesn't. Despite the fame cooking on programmes such as Ready Steady Cook and his own series Utter Nutter have brought him, he still retains that likeable down-to-earth edge. He still hates "pretentious" cooking, is ever eager to please his regular diners at his Edenfield restaurant 'Nutter's' and goes to any lengths to give a photographer a stunning shot such as climbing a 50-foot signpost outside his eatery. "It's amazing," he says. "Nobody recognised me a few years ago. Now they are stopping me in the street or I will be eating a meal and the chef will ask me into the kitchen.

"When I was grabbed by the gang of girls they stripped off my clothes. It could have been frightening but I'm game for a laugh. I couldn't believe it went in all the nationals. Why are people so interested?"

The pride and sincerity in his voice is unmistakable when he tells you he was asked to open a Rochdale store.

"I never ever thought I'd be asked to do something like that. Cutting the ribbon and cake. It was amazing."

He finds it strange when he visits colleges and sees students shaking.

"I remember when I use to be really nervous as a trainee when a chef came to judge a contest. It is strange being on the other end but I can relate to the students."

There is no doubt his name has been the making of him. And perhaps the fact that he lives up to it adds fuel to the publicity blaze.

"I am definitely a nutter by name and nutter by nature," said Andrew, who has actually dropped his Christian name in favour of his surname. It's a case of love him, love his quirks and he'll go to any lengths to snatch the limelight - like having Nutter shaved into the back of his head.

It is certainly a radical departure from his early career when as a teenage chef he underwent a formal training under the watchful eye of Anton Edelman at the Savoy serving royalty and top showbiz names.

He worked for a spell with Gary Rhodes and was also voted Lancashire Chef of the Year and Mancunian Businessman of the Year before making it big on the small screen.

He added: "I have a bit of a laugh on the television. I don't do it for the money. I wouldn't do it if I didn't enjoy it."

But he added: "I love cooking and can't see at time when I would give up the restaurant business to go solely into television.

"I like to have my finger in a few pies!"

Next week: TV pair John McCardle and Kathy Jameson

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