Chris HillA Norfolk children's doctor turned up the heat on his culinary rivals by battling through to the last six on BBC1's Masterchef programme last night. Tim Kinnaird, 37, left behind his career as a paediatrician with Norfolk Community Health Care after joining 135 other contestants to compete for the title of Britain's top amateur chef.Chris Hill

A Norfolk children's doctor turned up the heat on his culinary rivals by battling through to the last six on BBC1's Masterchef programme last night.

Tim Kinnaird, 37, left behind his career as a paediatrician with Norfolk Community Health Care after joining 135 other contestants to compete for the title of Britain's top amateur chef.

In last night's semi-final, he wowed the judges with his version of a classic French pudding to take his place in the next stage, which begins on Wednesday.

Although the episode was filmed in autumn, the results of the forthcoming rounds remain a closely-guarded secret.

But Dr Kinnaird, who lives in Shipdham, near Dereham said he was thrilled to have reached the closing stages of the competition, and one step closer to his dream of becoming a professional chef.

'My whole experience of being on the programme has been phenomenal,' he said. 'Having seen what the other competitors cooked to get through to the final six, it was a tremendous feeling. The quality of the cooking in the room on that day was amazing - and quite inspiring as well.

'When you see it on TV you don't know what to expect, but when everyone is in the room it is so real. It is terrifying.'

The competitors were given 90 minutes to create a single dish, but Dr Kinnaird resisted the urge to use over-ambitious flavours to impress judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace.

He cooked his own version of an �le flottante - a 'floating island' of baked meringue on chocolate mousse, served with an orange and ginger sauce with strands of caramel.

'You start with something grand and refine it down,' he said. 'Having seen the programme before, you see where other people make mistakes.

'I think the judges liked the technical skill involved in preparing all the different elements. I think they were impressed that I had taken a traditional French dish and reinterpreted it.'

Dr Kinnaird lives with his wife Rachel, a GP in Dereham, and their two children Abi, eight, and five-year-old Noah.

After leaving his job with Norfolk Community Health Care at the end of February, he said success on the cooking show would allow him to decide where his cooking passion would lead.

'My career as a paediatrician was very, very rewarding and it was a complete privilege to work with those children and families,' he said. 'But I had to leave that career behind to concentrate on food. It is a wonderful position to be in to choose what I want to do.'

Masterchef continues on BBC1 at 8pm on March 31.