I was on Come Dine with me and became a cult star...I get recognised around the world but there is an awful downside
I was on Come Dine with me and became a cult star...I get recognised around the world but there is an awful downside
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A dad who became known as the 'whisk man' after going viral from a Come Dine With Me appearance is recognised all over the world but has also been physically assaulted because of the notoriety. Wedding DJ Kev Riley became a meme when his dinner party trick on the Channel 4 show became an internet sensation in 2013.
![[The viral clip of Kev filmed in 2012 has been viewed millions of times online]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/24/13/94475149-14321673-image-a-3_1737724444720.jpg)
The 44-year-old self-confessed cooking novice has since been recognised by foreign waiters abroad, was plastered on a flag during a Coldplay Glastonbury performance and is also stopped in the street daily. Kev, who uses the clip viewed millions of times online to promote his DJ events, says the whisk moment changed his life forever.
![[Kev, who says the whisk moment changed his life forever, says he is often recognised in public, but also revealed a dark side to the fame after being punched in the face on a night out]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/24/13/94475223-14321673-image-m-10_1737724509445.jpg)
He told MailOnline: 'It's just been incredible. It still is, even after all of these years I am getting fame for it. It doesn't go away. It keeps going viral. 'It is quite mad really. I am recognised everywhere I go. I can't just mind my own business. Social media and Tiktok in particular has made it incredible.
![[In a 'surreal' moment for Kev, a flag with his iconic whisk moment was flown at Glastonbury Festival last year]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/24/13/94475215-14321673-image-m-9_1737724501299.jpg)
'It is like being a full-time celebrity. It was filmed in 2012 and broadcast the year after and I'd say there's been more fame in the last year or so because of Tiktok.'. However, he has also revealed a darker side to his internet fame, after being randomly punched on a night out in home town of Burnley, Lancashire, while with his wife.
![[Kev performs as a DJ and also owns a business which provides card machines. He insists he has made no money from his fame, but finds it 'great fun']](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/24/13/94475359-14321673-image-m-12_1737724586417.jpg)
