‘Come Dine with Me’ showcase for PE

Filming by Rapid Blue will begin in the city on Monday and continue over three weeks, as three episodes will now be shot here instead of the two initially planned.

Kee-Leen Irvine, Rapid Blue’s executive producer, believes PE may well yield the next amateur cook whose quirky or comedic on-screen antics will have everyone talking and tweeting.

That is exactly what happened to Puleng Spies, one of last year’s most popular dining contestants. Spies may not have won her episode, but she practically became a household name thanks to her bubbly personality on the show – and her hilarious catchphrase: "Shut the front door!”

Spies said at Tuesday night’s launch that, after her episode was aired, there was a "frenzy” on social media and she even trended on Twitter, with some viewers adoring her and others being "nasty”.

"For three days I couldn’t even look at Twitter because some people were just hateful. But the more they hate you, the more famous you become,” she chuckled.

As per the previous series, each episode from season three will follow four strangers who visit each others’ homes for dinner. The winning host, as evaluated by the other three guests, will win cash.

Irvine said she and her team were surprised during the PE auditions in June to find so many "serious foodies” in the city.

"The new series will certainly help put PE on the foodie map and we can’t wait to start shooting next week.”

Come Dine With Me South Africa, which has won an SA Film and Television Award for Best International Format Show, is also being filmed in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.

❑ The first episode of series three will be screened on September 30 on BBC Entertainment, Channel 120 on DStv.