THE stars of MasterChef cooked up a storm when they visited Rochdale to meet the cast of Waterloo Road.

The three finalists – Emily Ludolf, James Nathan and Jonny Stevenson – made a flying visit to the set of the popular school drama and prepared a mouth-watering menu for the actors, including Neil Morrissey and Denise Welch.

They were joined by MasterChef judges, chef John Torode and entrepreneurial greengrocer Gregg Wallace, and cooked three delicious dishes as the pressure mounted during the final stages of the contest.

The episode was screened on BBC2 on Monday night but the show was actually filmed last August.

A spokeswoman for Waterloo Road said: "The cast really enjoyed the visit. It was very exciting because a lot of them only found out on the day that the stars of MasterChef were coming.

"They were thrilled to meet John Torode and Gregg Wallace. They were great on the day and Neil Morrissey was especially pleased to meet them because he’s a real foodie and a fan of the show. He really liked one of the pork dishes."

She also confirmed that the Waterloo Road cast can’t wait to return to Rochdale in May or June to film another bumper series of the show.

She added: "Everyone is looking forward to the new series because we love filming here and we can’t wait to come back.

"The people of Rochdale are really friendly and it’s great news that we’re coming back for another 20 episodes."