Melissa Hemsley

The joy of food programmes

The Great British Bake Off 2018 winner Rahul Mandal (Credit: Channel 4)

With 87 days’ worth of cookery shows airing during the past year on UK terrestrial television – made up of 410 unique titles – the RTS event “Why we love… food” was appositely named.

Revealing the facts to an audience hungry for knowledge about the genre, Pritesh Mody, founder of artisan food producer World of Zing, chaired the late-May event on the day it emerged that Jamie Oliver’s UK restaurant chain had gone into administration.

Why We Love…Food

Tanya Shaw, Melissa Hemsley, Pritesh Mody, Nisha Katona, Sarah Lazenby (Credit: Phil Lewis/RTS)

Speaking at RTS event Why We Love…Food Channel 4 head of features and formats Sarah Lazenby said she had a meeting on Tuesday about the children’s version of the hit series, Great British Bake Off, which has followed its parent to the commercial broadcaster.

When asked how Channel 4 would make Junior Bake Off its own, Lazenby said “We’re really excited that’s coming to us. Obviously we’re not a children’s broadcaster…16-34 year olds is our target but…there’s a format that’s there but there’s also a Channel 4 tone.”