Merrilees began her TV career researching for the BBC and Channel 4, and worked with Antony Worrall-Thompson for his catering company, Wiz Events. In this role Merrilees worked at live events such as London Fashion Week and The Motor Show. She developed her style of no-nonsense cuisine at the Lansdowne in London's Primrose Hill, which earned her rave reviews.

Merrilees got her first big break in 1999 with Anything You Can Cook, a 27-part BBC2 series, which she co-presented with Brian Turner. She then became the resident cook in a BBC1 live daytime show throughout January 2001 called House Call.

Merrilees is a regular guest chef for BBC2's Saturday Kitchen and was one of the main presenters on BBC2's primetime series Full on Food. She has presented Planet Food, a series of 50-minute food and travel programmes for Food Network (USA) and several European channels.

Merrilees now runs her own catering company called Pink Food.

Website
www.pinkfood.co.uk