'Ready Steady Cook' is set to return to TV.

James Martin

James Martin

Chef James Martin - who regularly appeared on the culinary contest in the past - revealed talks are underway to bring back the "iconic" show, which aired from 1994 to 2010, and he'd love to follow in the footsteps of Fern Britton and Ainsley Harriott and host the programme.

He said: "It's only a matter of time, it might be coming back.

"I think 'Ready Steady Cook' is iconic. I think I'd give it a go. It's a great format.

"I'd be a lot slower now than when I was doing it, cause I'm a lot older.

"People remember that show ­however old they were. It was the most successful cooking show of its generation."

The programme saw two teams, each featuring a professional chef and a member of the public, go head to head in the kitchen with a bag of budget ingredients, and James thinks one of the reasons why it was so popular is that it gave viewers at home ideas and tips.

He added to The Sun newspaper: "You learnt something from it as well. I was talking to (fellow chef) Raymond Blanc about this, the night before last.

"We were sat there talking for a couple of hours about food and television and where stuff is going. He's like me, the chef element of it . . . you want to teach people.

"You don't really get that teaching part in entertainment shows."

The former 'Saturday Kitchen' star insisted current popular food programmes, such as 'MasterChef' and 'Great British Bake Off', don't teach anyone new skills.

He insisted: "They're not cooking shows. They're entertainment shows.

"You don't learn anything from it, or you learn very little from it.

"That's why they have a budget of millions.

"We don't. Cooking shows are very different, they're in a different bracket.

"Entertainment shows have a huge budget with great production values. They're just very different."

Tagged in