TELLING someone your favourite films, books or songs can reveal part of your personality.

In the case of Masterchef presenter Gregg Wallace the three songs which sum him up are:

- Moon River -It was the song playing when his wife said she loved him for the first time.

- Green Onions -Gregg uses it as he walk on music for his show.

- Any song by Squeeze as they are from South East London just like Gregg.

The cheeky chappie former costermonger has risen from selling his fruit and vegetables in Covent Garden to being the presenter of MasterChef, Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals on BBC One as well as presenting Inside the Factory and East Well for Less.

Two of the big lessons which Gregg has learnt throughout his life are to trust his instinct and go with his gut feeling and make friends with everyone whether you like them or not as you never know when you might need their help.

As someone who deals with food in Masterchef what would Gregg define as good food?

He said: “Brilliant, the best food of your life, one of the best dishes you have ever eaten all cooked by someone who is passionate about food.

“It is all about the sight, sound and smell of cooking when preparing the dish. The best food is made by people who know about the dishes they are making and know them so well. Experimental food never really works.”

Gregg has been presenting Masterchef for 13years since its revamp in 2005.

What does he think makes this programme such a big hit with viewers?

He said: “Even though it is the same shape (same structure to the show), no two shows are ever the same.

“It is like playing backgammon, the board is the same but you are playing with dice and so never know the outcome.

“What Masterchef has always been about is people. I do not know what it does for those who take part but I do know their level of cooking especially those who make it to the end improves dramatically.

“They are focussed on cooking and nothing else for three months as this is how long it takes to film a series.

“We show them what they were like three months ago and they cannot believe the change to their cooking. It would be like if they practicing playing a trombone, they would be great trombone players.

“What makes it a good show, I think there are a couple of factors. It works as a single episode, you can watch bits of them and it works if you watch someone’s progress throughout the programme.

“And in the end it is all about people chasing their dreams which is highly addictive.

“What I hope the viewer gets from the show is an enriched experience and comes away from watching it feeling good. There is a positive emotion in watching people (the chefs) and it is uplifting.

“It puts a smile on their faces and sunshine in their hearts.”

Gregg will aiming to put smiles on peoples faces when he appears at the Yeovil Literary Festival on Saturday, October 27.

His brand new show will be making hilarious behind the scenes tales with demonstrations and audience fun and games.

Explaining what will happen Gregg said: “I talk about how I went from selling fruit and vegetables to being on television. There was no obvious route for me to get onto television. People want to know my story and what it is like to be famous and what happens to you when you become famous.

“I will look at what and how we eat today and talk about Eat Well For Less.”

Tickets to see Gregg Wallace in the Octagon Auditorium cost £40 VIP (includes meet and greet), merchandise ticket £30 (includes signed merchandise) and Tickets £20 with concessions £18.50.

Book online at yeovilliteraryfestival.co.uk or call the box office on 01935 422884.

n For all you Inside the Factory fans, a new series will be returning.

Gregg said he had been to Quality Street factory to see how the sweets were made.

He would love to go to more sweet factories and one of his favourite episodes was visiting the Lovehearts factory.