Come Dine With Me’s most outrageous CHEATERS – from microwave meals to pub deliveries

COME Dine With Me always offers up a mix of food, company and chat, but the show’s history has in the past shown varying levels of quality.

In a bid to win the £1,000 cash, hosts are prepared to go to any lengths to secure the wad of money – including cheating.

The aim of the Channel 4 show is to off your dinner party skills in a flourish of three courses and after meal entertainment.

The number one rule is to try to make everything from scratch, swiftly followed by the unspoken vow to declare if you haven’t baked the bread or whisked the air-filled meringues yourself.

But this is often thrown out the window with some of the most outrageous contestants opting for a helping hand instead – whether it be a sneaky microwave meal, or even a dish delivered from the local pub.

Here’s a round-up of the most shocking incidents.

CHARLES AND HIS BHAJIS

Committing one of the ultimate sins of the show, Charles from season 37 presented his version of the word ‘homemade’.

The graduate was determined not to have any of his guests ‘slagging off my food” and opted to order the dish from his local pub.

His Indian meal included a variety of curries cooked by his own fair hands – except the onion bhajis, which were hand delivered to his door before any of his fellow contestants arrived.

LADY TINA’S MICROWAVE

Tina appeared on season 35 of the competition and cut every corner going.

Not only did she serve up shop-bought food, the contestant even purchased microwave rice which she dished out next to the “curry from a jar”.

She would have got brownie points for her homemade pitta bread, but she ditched it at the last minute for something out of the packet.

She did admit to crimes but shockingly tried to blame it on having a bad foot.

KEELEY’S RESTAURANT QUALITY FOOD

In season 2, one episode saw contestants from Essex appearing pleased to be served what they considered restaurant quality food.

The only problem was, it was actually restaurant food.

Wannabe actress Keeley had got her local dining establishment to prepare it for the evening.

Her excuse? The fact she’d just moved house and didn’t have any pots and pans to make a meal.

But her guests didn’t seem to mind – and she won with a massive 36 points.

Although Keeley did go on to confide in one if her fellow contestants the truth about the origins of the meal.

DEBORAH AND HER PEPPERCORN SAUCE

Deborah from season 6 couldn’t help but admit she’d made her pie with shop brought pastry.

But when it came to whether she’d produced the peppercorn sauce, the musical theatre enthusiast utter a little fib.

She even went on to tell guests exactly how she’d “made” the sauce and detailed it was with “cream, Dijon mustard and a little bit of olive oil.”

Deborah showed how guilty she felt in the kitchen, but luckily for her, they seemed none the wiser.