BBC legend bags another top TV series amid fears she’d gone off air for good
COOKERY shows seem to be falling flatter than a pancake these days, with channels axing foodie formats right, left and centre.
But Dame Mary Berry is bucking the trend.
I can reveal the octogenarian kitchen queen will serve up a new show for BBC Two, and an accompanying book this autumn.
The programme, titled Mary Berry Makes It Easy, ends a spell off-air for the telly fave following the decision to end her challenge show Britain’s Best Home Cook last September.
It left the nation’s favourite cook without a show on BBC One for the first time in a decade.
A TV source said: “Makes It Easy is a triumphant return for Mary after six months away and she’s busy filming the new programme right now.
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“As the name suggests, it sees her share simple, achievable recipes.
“Across six episodes, Mary will be joined by familiar faces from the world of TV who all have a cooking dilemma of their own.
“She will share the tricks and short cuts she’s learned over the years.
“This will inspire her guests to be bolder back in their own kitchens and, of course, that will hopefully extend to the viewers at home.
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“It’s Mary at her heartwarming best, no overcomplicated format or concept, just simple cooking for a lovely new show.”
It’s good news for the genre, as this month I have revealed that a number of new shows have been ditched after just one series.
Sara Cox’s Britain’s Best Takeaways will not return for a second helping on BBC Two.
Plus there will be no fresh servings of ITV’s Bad Chefs and Gordon Ramsay’s Next Level Chef was dropped after one series.
A TV insider added: “While the recent swathe of cancellations might suggest Britain has fallen out of love with food, everyone is confident that Mary’s new feast will tempt them.”
No doubt it will be truly scrumptious.
ENGLAND TEAM FOR MEADOWS
SHANE Meadows has revealed he is still in touch with the This Is England cast – nearly two decades on.
He was at the helm of the cult 2006 film and subsequent TV series, which made household names of actors including Stephen Graham and Vicky McClure.
The director said: “This Is England’s cast are a proper gang. They were kids when we made the film.
“Now I’m going to their weddings and their kids’ christenings. The connection hasn’t faded. Hopefully it will last a lifetime.”
Shane’s new show, The Gallows Pole starts on Wednesday on BBC Two. It is a period drama but he says it has strong parallels with today.
He added: “It’s set in the 1760s but feels all too relevant.
“Communities were forgotten, people were struggling on the breadline, driven to do desperate things.”
APPLE TV+ has released the thrilling new trailer for its upcoming series, Hijack, starring Idris Elba.
He plays a negotiator on a plane which, as the name suggests, gets hijacked mid-flight.
It looks like an epic show in which our hero relies on brains over brawn. Out on June 28.
JULIA: I’D BE SUPER ON TELLY
THE BBC’s adaptations of Julia Donaldson’s children’s stories are a jewel in the festive TV schedule.
And now the writer of kids’ faves, including The Gruffalo and Superworm, is eyeing a starring role in the next one.
She said: “I’ve long wanted to play a character in adaptations of my stories, but have never been asked.
“But I have recorded audio versions of my books and enjoy performing.”
The Beeb has announced that the next of her and Axel Scheffler’s books to be televised for Christmas will be Tabby McTat.
The story – about a moggy who faces an uncertain future after his busker owner breaks his leg – will feature the voices of Rob Brydon, The Larkins actress Joanna Scanlan and former Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker.
ROSE IS MAKING CHANGE
SINCE winning Strictly Come Dancing, Rose Ayling-Ellis has become a champion for progression.
We will next see her on a BBC documentary called Signs For Change, which will look at the challenges faced by deaf people.
But the work has not stopped there.
Rose, who has been deaf since birth, told me: “I have now joined the Writers’ Access Group to find more disabled writers.
“We can’t just have a disabled person on screen, we also need them behind the screen.
“I’ve just finished making Signs For Change, so I went around the UK meeting a lot of people.
“There was one mother who found out her child was deaf at the same time I started Strictly, and that was mad.
“She told me how much of an impact that had on her, and that got me emotional – I thought wow.
“I didn’t think that me having fun on TV would have that much of an effect on people’s lives.”
Good on you, Rose.
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