A theatre performer and food lover who grew up in Oxfordshire has not ruled out a return to the county after making the Masterchef final. 

Chris Willoughby, 44, was born in Chipping Norton and lives in Henley, and has reached the top-three of the TV cooking competition. 

"To celebrate Masterchef's 20-year anniversary, the show invited back 10 contestants from previous years with the chance to fight again," Mr Willoughby said. 

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"All on an even playing-field - no one working professionally or anything, and we all came back to prove our mistakes (from previous seasons) were small, silly mistakes.

"I think if you were offered a second chance for anything, you'd grab it, so to come back was an amazing experience." 

Though Mr Willoughby said he already has his dream job working in theatre - which he has juggled with competing in this season of Masterchef - he would not rule out a return to the area where he grew up. 

"I'm a lover of the Cotswolds - it's the most beautiful place I can think of," he said. 

"It's stunning, and I couldn't think of a better place to do some sort of fairy-tale dream-like immersive theatrical dinner.

"I mean, it doesn't always have to be based in London." 

Mr Willoughby has been part of cabaret, circus and theatre communities for years and has been part of the cast at The Box Soho since 2011 when it first opened in London's West End.

He balanced that job with the competition - and has brought a taste of the theatrical to the plate. 

"I've had so many amazing comments on social media, on my posts about how they love the theatrical side and the visuals and they'd love to taste it," he said. 

"I really loved my Jack the Ripper theatrical immersive dinner experience (on the show_ because, for me, food is about art and education and making the diners or the audience experience something and having a conversation to have outside of that.

"If you can educate people through food or make them feel a particular way, to have a conversation about something, I think that's totally another vessel of communication to anyone that is eating it." 

Mr Willoughby said he is driven by all elements of cooking including the visuals, the smells, the texture and - of course - the taste. 

"Just like any other artists and I think the fusion from performance world and theatre, you can really feed back into food," he said. 

Chris said he would also be open to doing more TV - potentially travel documentaries exploring unique food around the world - or writing a theatrical cookbook. 

The final will air on BBC One at 8pm tonight.