On BBC2's The Restaurant their relationship caused fireworks in the kitchen, but as Debbie Waite finds out, Thame restaurateurs Jeremy and Jane Hooper are a truly winning team: A year ago, Jeremy Hooper was a Royal Marines chef, cooking for 2,000 soldiers a day under canvas in Afghanistan, and his wife Jane was working with teenagers for the Prince's Trust.

Now, as winners of BBC2 series The Restaurant, they are running a restaurant in Thame, celebrity chef Raymond Blanc is their business partner and their first baby is due in March. But the couple are relishing having so many pots on the boil.

Jeremy, 33, said: "They say that starting a new job is one of the most stressful things you can do. Well, we're doing that, we've moved to another part of the country and we're having a baby, so it's pretty crazy."

The Hoopers embarked on their rollercoaster ride a year ago, when Jeremy came home to Devon from Afghanistan, for two weeks' leave.

Both 'foodies', they had always talked about owning a restaurant, so when they saw an advert looking for couples to compete in a TV reality show, with a restaurant as the prize, they emailed an entry.

Jeremy said: "I was returning to Afghanistan in two days when we had an email from the show's producers saying they wanted to interview us. I spoke to them and explained I was due back on my six-month tour and they said 'see what you can do'."

Desperate not to miss the chance to take part, he went back to Afghanistan and spoke to his commanding officer. Then it was back to England for an interview, then off to Afghanistan to finish his tour of duty and then home again, to start filming.

As competitors in The Restaurant, the Hoopers and seven other couples were given restaurants to run. The Hoopers got Eight in the Country, in Frieth, Buckinghamshire, and were plunged head first into the business.

Jeremy went from cooking for hungry troops, to creating fine dining that would impress master chef Raymond Blanc, owner of the award-winning Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, in Great Milton.

Jane swapped a hectic life working with teenagers, studying for a teaching qualification and voluntary work, for a crash course in restaurant management. In the coming weeks viewers watched the couple's baptism of fire in the restaurant business. And there were plenty of tears.

Jane said: "I did cry a few times, but the editing made it look so much worse. I made the mistake of saying early on that I'm an emotional person and they just jumped on it like vultures. I did cry, but that was because we're so passionate about winning, not because I'm an emotional wreck."

Jeremy added: "The editing made me look like a real villain and people obviously believed it, because one day I was cycling near our home in Devon, when a guy on a moped pulled into my path, took off his helmet and said 'My wife hates you'."

While the tears may have been made to look worse, the Hoopers say their determination to win was real. Jane said: "The pressure was intense, but Jeremy and I both thrive on that.

"And when we made it through to the final and we were seen coming out and jumping in the air, that joy was real. We knew we had a chance and our dream was close.

"It hasn't really sunk in yet that this is ours. It's stunning. But there's still so much to learn and so much more to running a restaurant than just serving food, from managing rotas, budgets and invoicing, to paying the bills and taking bookings - we're getting 60 calls a day at the moment.

"And of course that's before running front of house and hosting - so when Jeremy says his job is harder, that gets my goat a bit."

Always on hand to help though, is Raymond Blanc. Jane said: "Raymond has been so kind and supportive. He is the perfect mentor for us and we're so thrilled to be in partnership with him."

Passing whim that paid off: Former Lord Williams's School pupils Kristian Purchase, and Sophie McMaster are thrilled to have got jobs with the Hoopers.

Kristian, 20, from Shabbington, near Thame, said: "I had watched them on TV, then one day when I was cycling back from work at a factory, I saw them moving in. On a whim I stopped, and asked if I could leave my name and number. A few days later Jane called and here I am, working the bar at Eight at the Thatch."

Sophie, 19, from Thame, said: "I had been waitressing in Corfu and missed the series, but my mum told me about it and said I should ask for a job here. I was thrilled to get one and now waitress and work the bar.

"The first time I came in, I walked through the door and found a TV camera pointing at me. I thought 'Oh my God'. Since then I've been interviewed a couple of times and I'm more used to it, but it's still pretty exciting."

Their young staff are not the only local fans of the Hoopers. The couple have also been bowled over by support from the community in Thame.

Jane said: "We feel as if we've met half the town already. Everyone has been so lovely.

"We only have to walk down the High Street and people stop and wish us luck.

"One lady came by the other day and gave me a map of a nice route to walk our baby, when it arrives, plus an invitation to stop by for coffee."

She added: "We don't want to be celebs, we only want to run a restaurant, and soon, when the cameras leave - and things perhaps settle down a bit - we're looking forward to offering good, affordable food to our new community."