Hands up if any of you remember coming home from school and catching Ainsley Harriott and co. cooking up a bit of a storm on Ready Steady Cook? Sure, your mum was the one who whacked it on, but we all know you enjoyed watching the drama play out between the red tomato and green pepper kitchens while you waited for your chicken kiev to be ready.
Well, the BBC has announced that the classic cooking programme will be coming back to our screens - although you'll notice there's one big change in the format.
That's because Ready Steady Cook icon Ainsley Harriott won't be returning with it, and in his place will be new host Rylan Clark-Neal.
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It's certainly difficult to see how things will be without Ainsley's boundless energy and wide grin, but we all know change is inevitable - especially in the fickle world of TV.
Besides, Ainsley - who replaced presenter Fern Britton in 2000 and remained with the show for a decade - is busy with his own show over on ITV, Ainsley's Caribbean Kitchen.
The new version will reflect 'contemporary food themes', from cooking on budget to eating healthily, managing food waste to feeding the whole family - a move that the BBC said will mirror 'the changes in food and British cooking over the past decade'.
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Of course, a fiver these days won't get you very far, so guests will now get a £10 budget for their bag of ingredients, which their respective chefs will use to whip up a meal.
The BBC press release said: "In every episode two contestants are each paired up with a chef, going head to head in the newly designed Ready Steady Cook kitchen. But in this new series, the chefs will now face two different taste tests and the clock is always ticking!
"In the first challenge, each contestant comes armed with their bag of ingredients, all bought within a £10 budget. They'll have just 20 minutes to create delicious, surprising and inspiring dishes ready to wow the discerning studio audience.
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"And with further format twists along the way, from wildcard ingredients to chef timeouts, Rylan always has a surprise in store."
Chefs signed up already include Mike Reid, Romy Gill, Akis Petretzikis, Ellis Barrie and Anna Haugh.
If you fancy taking part in the new series, applications are opening soon. To register your interest, email to [email protected], where you can find out when and how to apply.
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New host Rylan Clark-Neal said: "To be asked to host such an amazing show for the BBC is such a privilege.
"After making the finals of Celebrity MasterChef, I know how tough cooking under pressure can be. I'm sure that the mix of new challenges, fantastic chefs and enthusiastic cooks will be a recipe for success, maybe with the odd disaster!"
Rylan will also be fronting the revamped Supermarket Sweet, which was originally hosted by Dale Winton - who passed away last year.
The original programme ran from 1993 to 2001 on ITV, along with a brief revival in 2007.
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But now it's time for us to go wild in the aisles once again, as the show returns to our screens 'soon'.
Featured Image Credit: BBC
Topics: Food, Entertainment, TV and Film
