AN actress and her Tears for Fears rock star husband have embarked on a new career in Northwich - making chilli jam.

Bongos Rock & Roll Chillis is a business run by actress Deborah Elias, 43, and Tears for Fears drummer Manny Elias, 65. They make original recipe chilli condiments at their home near Delamere Forest.

Deborah has appeared in Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Cold Feet while Manny has toured the world with Tears for Fears, Julian Lennon, Dolly Parton, Joni Mitchell, Peter Gabriel and Peter Hamill.

Deborah spoke to the Guardian about the couple’s business and the markets.

She said: “I’ve been doing the Northwich Artisan Market for three years now and that’s one of my favourites because it’s so close to home.

“I’ve got all my regulars there and we have a right giggle it’s a lot of fun.”

The business has been going for over three years now and it is a team effort between Deborah and Manny.

“It’s my business but we run it together, he’s Bongo and I’m Mrs Bongo,” said Deborah

Manny is still heavily involved in the music industry.

Deborah said: “He’s on a PR tour in LA with American singer-songwriter Gregory Darling and he’s just finished the new album by a band called The Rua who are very promising.

“Manny has been making Chillimanjaro since long before we met. It was one of those things where whenever we went to visit someone they’d be asking for us to bring a few jars of it.”

The business started when the couple were taking a break from their work.

Deborah said: “He stopped touring for a while and I stopped because I was an actress and he asked what we should do and I told him ‘you make the pickles and I’ll sell them’.

“It’s really fun and it’s been really successful and people love it.”

They cater to a wide range of tastes but for anyone feeling brave they offer one product that is not out on their stall.

Deborah said: “We have one called the Secret Batch and it’s made with fresh Carolina Reaper which is currently the world’s hottest chilli, it’s 2.4 million Scoville units.

“When you see these chilli challenges at festivals the last one usually involves Carolina Reapers.

“We started off with the Chillimanjaro then we added the Chillijam and X-Scream Crush, the first stall we did we only had one product available and now we have eight in production. There’s a couple more on the way as well.”

Deborah said: “We have a really good laugh with our customers, they’re the best. We chat to them on social media and some of the comments and reviews we’ve received have been absolutely hilarious.”

Bongos Rock & Roll Chillis have stalls at many markets over the next few months and for more information on where you can find them visit their website bongosrockandrollpickles.co.uk