Just when you thought reality TV couldn’t spring any more surprises, a BBC series is to offer the Queen as first prize. The chance to cook her an 80th birthday lunch will be hotly contested in Great British Menus on BBC2.
The meal will be prepared by four winning chefs and served to the Queen and Prince Philip at the Mansion House in London on June 15. There will be 14 chefs competing for the job, including Gary Rhodes, Antony Worrall Thompson and Marcus Wareing.
Their performance will be judged by cookery experts such as Prue Leith and Matthew Fort, but in keeping with the spirit of reality TV the public will also be able to send in their votes.
This will be the closest association that a member of the royal family has had with a game show since It’s a Royal Knockout in 1987, mere mention of which sends a shiver down regal spines. Organised by Prince Edward, it also featured Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and the Duchess of York. The event raised £1m for charity but was heavily criticised.
Now that reality TV is by royal appointment, how long can it be before One’s The Earl Of Wessex, Get One Out Of Here!
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Bookies talk of Kennedy comeback – or running a distillery
Charles Kennedy will revive his political career as the Liberal Democrats’ home affairs spokesman, according to that most reliable of political pundits — an online bookie.
Stan James says this is the former leader’s most likely option and is offering odds of 5-4. But it’s not the only suggestion for Kennedy, who was toppled as leader after admitting a drink problem. Cruelly, you can also get 100-1 that Kennedy will give up politics and take a job as chief executive at a Scottish distillery.
In The Political Animal, Paxman suggested many successful political careers were the result of wretched childhoods or emotional dysfunction. Time to send for the Gentleman Usher of the Tin Hats?
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Hapless Hilary unleashes the wrath of Clare Short
Now Ruth Kelly has struggled free, the Grim Reshuffler will be turning his attention once more to Hilary Armstrong. Not only did the chief whip hand David Cameron an easy victory during his Commons debut as Tory leader, but Tony Blair is apparently none too impressed with her handling of backbench rebels.
So it won’t have helped that Clare Short has accused Armstrong of making “a crude attempt” to silence her over Iraq last year. “The chief whip threatened me with withdrawal of the whip, which meant I couldn’t stand as a Labour candidate,” Short told a Commons committee. And the result? It spurred the former international development secretary into writing her memoirs, which she finished in four months. Good work, Hilary.