A Kenilworth rugby player is set to feature in the semi-finals of MasterChef this week.

Terri Fearon, 30, has made it through to the final eight contestants on the 19th series of the hit BBC One cooking show.

Having first discovered her love for cooking as a child, Terri had left the idea of a career in food behind, before taking the plunge to send in an application for this year's show.

"My dad was a chef and I had always thought I would follow in his footsteps a bit," she told Nub News.

"But then I realised quite early on in my teenage years, it wasn't quite the glamorous career that I thought it was. I made the decision instead to go to university and never looked back, really."

She added: "I am also a massive MasterChef fan, and I watch all sorts of cooking shows. 

"I would sit on the sofa and say what I would make in an invention test. I was really good at being a sofa critic, but not so much at putting my money where my mouth is! 

"But then I decided to fill in an application one day, I never really thought anything would come of it but I am very grateful that it did."

Terri, who plays as a prop for Kenilworth Women's Rugby team, will feature in tonight's (May 23) semi-final on BBC One, during which the final eight contestants will travel to the Fire Service College in Gloucestershire, where over 15,000 firefighters and emergency responders are trained every year.

Cooking in teams for the first time, the remaining contestants will have just three and a half hours to cook and serve a feast for 120 of the emergency responders and trainers.

Back in her home in Warwick, accountant Terri will be watching the show with friends and family, as she did for the quarter-finals.

But despite having appeared in multiple episodes now, she says she is not used to seeing herself on the television yet.

"Watching myself on screen? Absolutely not!" she said. 

"It doesn't matter how many episodes in you are, I still struggle with that one! 

"You never expect yourself to look like that, it's like hearing your voice back. It doesn't change for me, it doesn't get any easier with each episode, but at least I have the benefit of knowing what's coming."

Terri was a fan of the show for years before deciding to apply to be on it (Image via BBC/Shine TV)

However, Terri did say she enjoyed watching her quarter-final appearance the most, where she heard the feedback on the episode's challenges from judges Greg Wallace and John Torode for the first time.

And while she said hearing the feedback in person was a nerve wracking experience, Terri said the comments from the judges and the process of the show had spurred her on to become a better chef.

"What the show does is it makes you learn things yourself quite quickly," she said. 

"You do learn it all yourself, it's not like John and Greg teach you how to cook. 

"It's so intense that you go home and you're researching new recipes and trying new techniques and listening to podcasts. It encompasses your whole life.

"You end up in this loop of self learning to up your game, to get through the next round and to keep up with the other contestants as well."

MasterChef will air on BBC One at 9pm tonight (May 23).

Terri will be watching the semi-finals with friends and family at home (Image via BBC/Shine TV)