Richard really is the naked chef!

Like all good salesmen, Richard Deeping has the gift of the gab and bags of confidence.

But when your CV includes four years as a stripper performing for crowds of holidaymakers, it stands to reason you will not be the shy and retiring type.

Years before he bought his successful business, Harveys Windows and Conservatories, 48-year-old Richard used to perform a striptease in a bar in the Spanish resort of Benidorm as part of a duo called The Shaving Foam Boys.

Although he stopped taking his clothes off professionally more than 20 years ago, last week viewers of the Channel 4 programme Come Dine With Me will have seen contestant Richard stun his guests with an after-dinner striptease.

Richard won the show and walked away with the £1,000 prize money, which he spent on taking his fellow contestants and crew out for a slap-up meal.

From bricklaying to stacking his shelves and eventually running his own business, Richard says he has always been one of life's grafters.

"I got expelled from school when I was 15 – I was a bit cheeky, boisterous you might say," said the father-of-two, who lives in Glenfield.

"But I was working nights in a bakery and then in my tea break did a paper round."

Richard lied about his age to gain an apprenticeship as a bricklayer, but when his employers found out he lost the job and went to work in the Co-op, stacking shelves.

"I actually enjoyed it – I seemed to get on with the little old ladies and by then I knew I was good with people," he said.

"I have always wanted to get out there to work and earn money and that's never left me."

When he was old enough, Richard went back to building and then, at the age of 21, went in search of adventure in Benidorm.

"I ended up working at a disco and then one day we were brainstorming about how to bring more people into the club – hence the stripping," said Richard.

"I stopped after four years because Benidorm started to become quite rough and there's only so many times you can take off a thong."

Back in England, Richard spent time as a window salesman and started up a building firm before being head-hunted by the founder of Harveys Windows, Len Harvey.

When Mr Harvey decided to move on nine years ago, Richard bought the company with business partner Sally Roberts.

It has not been an easy journey but Richard said the firm, which turns over around £1.3 million, is on the up.

He said: "Things have changed quite a lot because energy efficiency has become important and obviously people have less money to spend.

"When it's your own business and you are not reaping the benefits it means you have to dig in.

"It's been a tough ride but we have changed some of our products and cut some overheads. It cannot be four-day weeks and spending hours on the golf course.

"I work six days a week and will still use my bricklaying if necessary – in fact I was bricklaying last weekend on a job.

"But things are starting to pick up and because we have been running a tight ship it means we are now in a good place.

"The future is definitely looking bright."

At its base off Fosse Road North, Leicester, Harveys' employs three people in the office and three teams of fitters, one of which is an apprentice.

Richard's children Spencer and Sharday also work for the firm.

Richard said: "I think this recession has sorted a lot of the men from the boys.

"People like to use us because we are a family business and we do offer a good service.

"Yes, there's a lot of bravado in this industry but I am able to back it up. I've been a builder and I know what I am talking about."

Following his appearance on national television, Harvey's has been inundated with phone calls from customers who spotted Richard on the Channel 4 show.

He said: "It's been a bit mad, but I wasn't worried about how they would portray me.

"I wear my heart on my sleeve and I feel I came across as myself."