Ready Steady Cook

[JustJodi]

ohhhhhhh thanks for the heads up .. this should be interesting to see them outside the "hospital" settings.. awesome,, will be watching this tmw ,,

[Abigail]

For those that missed it

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/page/it...n_pid=b00c13qt

[StarsOfCCTV]

Ooh thankyou so much I missed it (again)

[Perdita]

Aldo Zilli and Maria Elia have joined the team of chefs for the new series of Ready Steady Cook.

The established duo will appear with host Ainsley Harriott and regulars James Tanner, Gino D'Acampo, Paul Rankin, Phil Vickery, Nick Nairn and Lesley Waters.

"It's great to be part of the Ready Steady team and I felt honoured to be asked," said Elia.

"The night before the first show I felt sick with nerves but I soon began to relax and actually started to enjoy myself! I always find if you're relaxed and happy your food will taste so much better!"

Celebrity contestants on the new series will all be professional rivals or family members. Apprentice stars Raef Bjayou and Claire Young, Strictly Come Dancing's Darren Bennett and Lilia Kopylova and Celeb Air's Chico and Kenzie are among the guests.

The series also introduces a new credit crunch Budget Bag, which will include a selection of food only worth £3.50 for the cooks to make a meal with.

Ready Steady Cook returns to BBC Two in January.

Not watched this for a while but have picked up some very useful tips in the past

[Perdita]

Thanks to a simple format, a certain bubbly presenter and a host of talented chefs, Ready, Steady, Cook is still part of BBC Two's daytime TV schedules 15 years after it first aired. Watching professional cooks creating a plate of food out of a bag of surprise ingredients may not sound exciting, but it has outlasted dozens of other food shows and remains a staple fixture for students and housewives alike. We caught up with the flamboyant host Ainsley Harriott to find out what we can expect from the latest series.

Ready, Steady has been running for 15 years. Why do you think the show has lasted so long?
"We've done nearly 2000 shows, you know. It's unbelievable. It's amazing! The show's simple concept of having 20 minutes to cook a meal works well. Also we don't stick to just telling people how to cook - there's chat. I was at something the other day for a women's corporation and they said, 'We sometimes don't watch, but it's always on'. It's that sort of TV show, people will leave it on in the background. It's like an old friend."

On this new series, you have two new chefs. How are they fitting in?
"Yes, Aldo Zilli and Maria Elia are fantastic. Aldo is just being Aldo, but he was quite nervous before he came on. It's such an established show I think it can have that effect on people. Everyone thinks it's so easy until they are actually forced to do it!"

How difficult do the professional chefs find it working under the 20 minute restriction?
"It puts the chefs under pressure and makes them think on their feet. They don't know what their ingredients are, unlike pretty much every other cookery show. We have the live studio audience too, so you have to be on top of it. To see these professionals pulling it all together is wonderful and that's why the show's so popular all around the world. In Australia they even have their own camp, black presenter - I hope they weren't copying me!"

Are you a fan of Hugh and Jamie's campaigning cookery shows?
"Honestly, last year I wasn't that in awe of it. The whole 'what to do with chickens?', 'what to do with this?' etc.. I think the nation knows about that. I know it personally and I know what it's like out there. I agree it's necessary to inform people, but it's not something I want to tune into."

How much genuine rivalry is there between the country's top chefs?
"I think the higher up you go, there is more real rivalry. We all know about Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Wareing, who had their spat. We do have some amazing chefs on Ready, Steady, but they're not hoity-toity. Chefs don't really row though. I think it was Gordon who started all that, creating tension by slagging everyone off. It's nice that he's gone quiet now! We don't hear anything from him anymore."

You have quite a bubbly and lively personality. Have you ever been tempted to appear on a reality TV show?
"I haven't succumbed to that yet. I have been asked and I was even asked to do some dancing, but we're talking about a serious commitment there. It's eight or so hours every day. Plus, I don't know about you, but Strictly this time around had lost a bit of fun. There were people who had half-trained beforehand as musicians and actors, where dancing was part of their work. That's why when Sergeant was in there, the public said, 'Keep him in, we want to smile'. It's not all about professional actors going on there and looking brilliant. It didn't have the same appeal and humour."

You won't be following in Gary Rhodes' footsteps then?
"Oh my God! Gary Rhodes! Wasn't that embarrassing? Actually the most embarrassing thing was when he was in Hello! magazine showing off his new body. I nearly died! Good grief, I was in the shop and I screamed out 'Arrrggh! Gary, what are you doing?!' He's a lovely guy and a great cook - but he's a not a good dancer, the poor boy."

Ready, Steady, Cook returns Monday, January 19 at 4.30pm on BBC Two.


I used to watch this regularly and picked up loads of tips on how to cook things but find Ainsley somewhat irritating and have not seen the show for a couple of years now. But it seems to be very popular as it has been running for 15 years

[Chloe O'brien]

I used to like watching Can't cook won't cook when I was a student. I miss RSC with travelling home from work.

[Siobhan]

I use to watch this all the time but haven't seen it in ages..use to love "can't cook, won't cook" it was really funny and you do pick up hints on it.. now watching master chef

[pookie1968uk]

i lke this and watch it when i can. i actually like ainsley too, he is a bubbly presenter and genuinely seems a nice man.

[Perdita]

The BBC has confirmed that long-running cookery programme Ready Steady Cook has been axed after almost 16 years.

Media Guardian reports that the move was made to axe the Ainsley Harriot-fronted show as the BBC attempt to freshen up their daytime schedule.

No new series of the programme will be made and repeats will end next year.

"After 15 years, 21 series and nearly 2,000 episodes, Ready Steady Cook has hung up its cooking aprons. I'm proud of the show, which will go down in history as the longest running cookery show on TV," Liam Keelan, the BBC's head of daytime said.

"BBC Daytime is constantly looking at ways to innovate and refresh our programme formats and, while the series has been hugely popular on BBC2, it was felt that Ready Steady Cook has been taken as far as it could."

He continued: "This will help make way for new cookery shows including The Hairy Bikers' Cook Off, as well as more drama like Moving On, The Indian Doctor and Land Girls, and current affairs programming, which I really want to be at the heart of Daytime.

"Ready Steady Cook fans will, however, still be able to enjoy repeats of the show as they will continue to be broadcast for some time yet."

Harriot added: "I feel privileged to have been part of the Ready Steady Cook family for the past 15 years. I am immensely proud of its success as the longest-running cookery show on British television and will always look back on it with the fondest of memories."


I have learned quite a few things from that programme

[tammyy2j]

Ross Burden has died at the age of 45 - RIP

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/...oLm1UGPlzyogKY