The head chef at Cottage in the Wood on Whinlatter was forced to pull out of a TV cooking contest due to ill health.

Chris Archer, 28, of Station Street, Cockermouth, competed in BBC Two's Great British Menu, which aired this week.

But last night's show saw him forced to leave the show.

Originally from Yorkshire, Chris competed in the show's North East regional section against Mini Patel and Tommy Banks.

Chris said: "It's a shame I had to pull out, but I felt at the time that unless I was 100 per cent I wouldn't be able to do it justice.

"It would have been nice to have cooked the dishes. It's a shame but I don't beat myself up about it."

Chris was initially approached to take part in the programme in 2014, but didn't make the cut.

He was then contacted again last year and was given his chance to compete after another contestant pulled out.

The show, which is currently airing on weeknights on BBC Two, was filmed in September and October 2015.

Chris was one of 24 chefs competing in the show, with three contestants from each of eight UK regions taking part.

Eight finalists go on to compete in the national finals to win the chance to cook at the Great Britons Banquet at the Houses of Parliament.

Chris enjoyed filming the show.

He said: "It's something different to what I'm used to. The best part of it was being able to cook with two really good chefs, one of which is a good friend.

"It was a nice change of pace to work alongside other chefs.

"It's given me more confidence with what I'm doing. We're getting good feedback and being on TV will raise that profile."

Chris was up against friend Mini Patel and Tommy Banks in the contest.