Is Jamie Oliver and Jimmy Doherty’s cafe on Southend Pier real?

JAMIE And Jimmy's Friday Night Feast has been thrilling fans since it first hit our TV screens a decade ago.

But fans often wonder if the idyllic cafe, set on Southend Pier, is real, or just a studio.

Where is Jamie Oliver and Jimmy Doherty's café on Southend Pier?

You can't actually grab a bite to eat at Jamie Oliver and Jimmy Doherty's café because it is usually only in use for the two weeks in which the show is filmed.

Guests seen in the café have to apply to be on the show as extras for the Channel 4 series.

Jamie and Jimmy's Friday Night Feast is just a joy to make! The right show at the right time. People have a little extra spring in their step on Fridays.

Jamie Oliver

If you choose to visit Southend Pier, you can learn more about the café before it stopped functioning as a commercial entity in 2005.

Just head over to the Cultural Centre at the end of the Pier which was brought in by Southend Borough Council.

Over the years Jamie and Jimmy's Friday Night Feast has featured A-list guests including Olympian great Usain Bolt, actress Salma Hayek, Hollywood star Danny DeVito, and Star Wars legend Mark Hamill.

Ant and Dec have also made a visit to the pier cafe.

Speaking about the show's success, Jamie Oliver told Channel 4: "The series is just a joy to make: the right show at the right time.

"People have a little extra spring in their step on Fridays.

"Plus we’re getting amazing superstar guests on the show."

He also talked about what it was like to have Danny DeVito in the cafe: "He’s a Hollywood legend and he came especially to see us - at the end of Southend Pier, two hours out of London, for a six-hour filming.

"That isn’t normal. On Jonathan Ross, you can get in and out in two hours, so our show is a major time commitment.

"But people come because they like what we do and they love food.

"Danny calls everyone baby - 'hey baby, thanks baby'.

How long is Southend Pier?

Southend Pier is one of the most prominent landmarks in Southend-on-Sea in Essex.

The Grade II listed pier is said to be the longest pleasure pier in the world, stretching 1.34 miles into the Thames Estuary.

The pier was first opened in 1830, and was replaced by an iron structure in 1889.

Popularity for the seaside resort boomed in the early 19th century, with Londoners who wishes to escape the city for a weekend.

Is there a train at Southend Pier?

Southend Pier Railway provides passenger transport from the shore to the pier head.

According to the website, trains run on the hour and half past from the shore end of the pier, and at quarter past and quarter to from the pier head.

The journey takes just 10 minutes.

The line is owned by Southend-on-Sea Borough Council and is open every day the pier is open.

Jamie And Jimmy's Friday Night Feast can be streamed on All4.