Come Dine With Me is a fascinating show. It’s not only a fun reality show filled with arguments and cattiness about people’s cooking and interior design skills, but it’s endured as an insight into the British class system and the tensions caused by the wealth disparity in this country. It’s a little disappointing then that a show called Come Dine With Me: The Musical is so undercooked given the exciting possibilities of its source material.
We all know the format of Come Dine With Me: four different people host a dinner party each in their respective homes over four nights. In Come Dine With Me: The Musical, our focus is on stern producer Mary (Daniele Coombe) and her crew, who want to make an extra juicy episode for their 1000th edition. The contestants are a flamboyant vegan, a very posh woman, a man who calls himself the king of pork pies, and a girl with a history with Teddy the sound man (Harry Chandler). Soon, rumours start to spread about a secret saboteur, and the crew investigate, excited about potential drama for their episode.
There’s a lot to like about Come Dine With Me: The Musical. The most fun characters are the three peripheral contestants, ridiculous caricatures and yet exactly the kind of people you see on Come Dine With Me. A standout moment is the song of Barbara (Kim Ismay), the posh contestant, who shows off her pretentiousness and knowledge of French to hilarious consequences.
What falls a bit flat is the drama between the more ‘serious characters’. A lot of time is devoted to the will-they-won’t-they tension between Teddy and the contestant he has a crush on, Janey (Sophie Hutchison), but the characters are not developed enough to give a reason to care about them. The premise of a musical about Come Dine With Me feels a little wasted on this generic human drama. The show itself does not really seem to have much to comment on with regards to the show, and it’s devoid of a lot of what makes the show fun and unique, such as kitchen drama, contestant rivalry, and Dave Lamb’s acerbic commentary. Come Dine With Me: The Musical is entertaining enough, but doesn’t deliver on the fun satire its title seems to promise.
