A Suffolk restaurateur and TV presenter will be taking over as president of a prestigious professional food writers association.

Ruth Watson, who opened Watson and Walpole restaurant in Framlingham in 2020, will be taking on the role at the Guild of Food Writers, a network for nearly 600 broadcasters, columnists, authors and journalists.

She will be taking over from the previous president, Orlando Murrin, in October, who has been in the role for five years.

READ MORE: Watson and Walpole in Framlingham named among best in UK

In March, the EADT revealed how Watson and Walpole had been named among the best Italian restaurants by the Good Food Guide, which provides information about places to dine out.

Describing the Suffolk eatery, the Good Food Guide said: "Watson and Walpole is a place to eat deliciously all'italiana, so come hungry. 'Spot-on, absolutely delicious' noted one diner, applauding a Dover sole, precisely roasted to that moment when the flesh slops easily from the bone."

The restaurant is located just down the road from Framlingham Castle and has a space at the back called Beviamo, which serves pizza from a wood-fired oven.

READ MORE: New Italian bar to open in Framlingham by Ruth Watson

Ruth Watson and her husband David run Watson and Walpole, along with business partner Rob Walpole, having previously run the Crown and Castle Hotel in Orford and having owned Hintlesham Hall.

In 2010, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Suffolk for services to hospitality, while she had been secretary of the Guild of Food Writers since December 2020.

Her TV career has included presenting Channel 5's The Hotel Inspector, which proved to be one of the channel's most popular series of the early 2000s and won a Royal Television Society award.

She has also presented the series Country House Rescue on Channel 4. 

READ MORE: Framlingham news