A weekly newspaper editor has been piling on the pounds after organising a ‘Come Dine With Me’ style competition for readers.

John Elworthy, editor of the Cambs Times and Wisbech Standard, dropped into three readers’ homes for dinner on three consecutive nights to judge their culinary efforts.

Venison medallions, monkfish in Thai sauce and shank of Lamb were the main courses included in the three entries picked for the shortlist.

Said John: “I think I’ve gained several extra pounds but it was fascinating turning up to complete strangers’ homes each night and getting a really warm welcome.”

‘Three dinners’ Elworthy, second right, toasts one of the finalists.

The competition was hatched after an approach by Echo Falls, sponsors of the Channel 4 programme of the same name.

“They wanted a local version but we thought, with the huge distances between remote Fenland towns and villages, it wasn’t practical to get couples to visit each other,” said John.

“Echo Falls persisted in offering us the £1,000 prize so I decided to run a competition inviting readers to send in suggestions for three course meals, and then pick three finalists to entertain me.

“It was a tough call, but I thought someone needed to do it.”

Two weeks after his gastronomic marathon, John handed one of the host families a cheque for £1,000.

Said John: “I told them at the winners’ reception I would have liked to have shared the prize, but then I remembered how nasty Simon Cowell could be and reminded the finalists they had entered a competition to win £1,000 – not £333.33″.