Barry plans sauce line after Hell’s Kitchen win

Following in the footsteps of other celebrities as diverse as Masterchef presenter Lloyd Grossman and Hollywood actor Paul Newman, Hell’s Kitchen winner Barry McGuigan says that he plans to bring out his own range of cooking sauces.

The ex-boxer, who beat out Emmerdale siren Adele Silva for the top chef crown on Monday, told reporters that he’s keen to “reinforce what I have learned”.

Barry added that he also intended to rope in head chef at Hell’s Kitchen Marco Pierre White for extra lessons to help him out further.

“I’m definitely going to ring Marco,” he said. “Will I be launching McGuigan’s mash? I’m certainly going to do something - McGuigan’s sauce, I think!”

TV star Adele might stand to do even better out of the show - which has netted ITV eight million viewers.

The Sun reports that she could make “a cool £2 million” from promotions in the next few months - with cook books and advertisements reportedly high on the agenda.

Marco Pierre White added: “Adele has been fantastic. If she wasn’t an actress she could definitely become a chef full-time.”

Gavin and Stacey

Gavin and Stacey is one of a new breed of British sitcoms such as Ideal, Roman’s Empire and Help, which have a great storyline, good casts and entertaining, yet vulnerable characters. It stars comedy actors Mathew Horne as Gavin, and James Corden as his best friend, Smithy, and also includes Alison Steadman playing Gavin’s mum and Rob Brydon as Stacey’s “ Uncle Bryn”.

The sitcom follows Gavin and Stacey, an engaged couple in their home towns of Billericay in Essex and Barry Island in South Wales, respectively. Thy have been having a long-distance romance and this is the first time that nice guy, Gavin has been in love. Last night’s episode featured the pair’s Stag and Hen nights. Stacey was clearly worried about what fiancé Gavin would get up to and insisted on him keeping is phone on and being available. It was a true lads’ night out as they all got drunk and ate kebabs. Stacey’s night was more interesting as, egged on by best friend, Nessa, she was subjected to the delights of PC Lovelength, a stripper-gram, who proceeded to but squirty cream on his manhood for Stacey to lick off.

After their nights out Gavin travelled to Cardiff to see Stacey and Uncle Bryn insisted that he had a stag party (he had not been invited to the original party and so thought that a night had not been organised). Gavin’s friend Smithy (and soon to be best man), turned up. The three – Gavin, Bryn and Smithy sat in a weakly populated pub with furry antlers on their head – a joy to see! An ex-boyfriend of Stacey’s turned up at the stag night and asked Gavin what it was like to be the 6th. Apparently Stacey had been engaged 5 times before Gavin and he thought that it was the first time for both of them. He was clearly upset that he did not know the truth. With the wedding only a week away, is it all off? What next for Gavin and Stacey?

World is Adele’s oyster after spell in Hell’s Kitchen

While former boxing champion Barry McGuigan may have taken the Hell’s Kitchen title, it looks like actress Adele Silva will be the real winner of the reality show.

The Emmerdale star has been inundated with offers from a host of firms wanting her to be the face of their products and could be in line to earn £2 million over the next few months if reports are to be believed.

The 26-year old runner-up may also be harboring plans to open her own restaurant after her experience in the kitchen under head chef Marco Pierre White.

The Frenchman was full of praise for both of the finalists but clearly had a soft spot for the young blonde.

“Adele has been fantastic,” he said.

“If she wasn’t an actress she could definitely become a chef full-time. She is very focused and organised. I think she has what it takes to run her own kitchen.”

Taking his top spot with good grace, the 46-year old featherweight said: ” I’ve had a fabulous time, we all have.

“It’s been a fabulous journey,” though Jim Davidson and Lee Ryan may beg to differ, of course.

Hell’s Kitchen: The Final

Hell’s Kitchen was the perfect antidote to get you over having “End of Big Brother Blues”, but it has just come to an end , with Barry McGuigan, King of Mash, being a worthy winner. The first series of Hell’s Kitchen was the brainchild of Gordon Ramsay, with Angus Deayton acting as host. . For this series the Chef changed, but the format remained pretty much the same. Ten celebrities tried their hand at cooking under the charge of a Top Class chef for two weeks. They fed a restaurant full of celebrities (for free) and two teams were in competition with each other.

The chef for this series was 3-Michelin-starred Marco Pierre White, who was even more rude and hot-tempered than Gordon Ramsay, but with not as much swearing. If he did not like the diners, he asked Nick, the Maitre d’ to throw them out. John Mccririck and wife had come with their picnic hamper just in case (and they had to use it). Marco did not rate Carol Thatcher (he liked her mother), but Tony Anstis managed to get away with walking up to the pass and identifying a hair in his pudding. It was a wonder that there were any diners left. However, Marco did show that he was an inspirational leader who, despite being initially scary (that wolf-like glare), looked after his team of budding chefs. The line up of celebrities was:

singer, Paul Young
boxer, Barry McGuigan
singer, Lee Evans
comedian, Jim Davidson
presenter and former Big Brother winner, Brian Dowling

presenter, Anneka Rice
actress, Adele Silva
model, Abigail Clancy
actress, Kelly LeBrock
newspaper editor, Rosie Boycott

From not being able to cook an egg, the celebrities learned how to cook mussel soup, butchery skills (of pigeons, lobster, deer, pig’s trotters) and how to run a kitchen. Paul’s Fish Pie was the toast of the town, as was Barry’s mash and shepherd’s pie, Adele’s vegetables, soups and garnishes and Brian’s pastries and puddings. Paul, Barry, Brian and Adele were finalists and showed that they could work hard and cook dishes that food critics were impressed with.

Against all of the odds the celebrities managed to feed 76 customers, night after night and achieve impressive ratings, but not without tears, rages, upset, burning themselves and turning into mini Marcos (complete with trademark bandanas) .

Barry McGuigan showed his fighting spirit and what a true champ that he is!

Terry to make one last rover’s return?

Bad-boy Terry Duckworth will return to Wetherfield in time to see off his mum Vera if Coronation Street producers get their way.

Terry was last in the soap back in 2002 when he was hiding in Jack’s allotement on the run from the law.

Prior to that he had previously been convicted of bigamy and infamously sold his son to his in-laws, breaking Vera’s heart in the process.

Now with actress Liz Dawn soon to bow out of the show after 34 years due to illness, the show’s bosses are rumoured to be lining up a family reunion that promises to be anything but happy.

“Nigel has been approached to see if he is available to come back to the show,” a Coronation Street spokesman told the Manchester Evening News.

“Ideas are still coming from the scriptwriting team for Liz Dawn’s departure, but we would like the character of Terry to be involved.”

However, actor Nigel Pivaro who plays troublesome Terry is currently busy pursuing a career as a journalist, having recently obtained a Masters degree in Terrorism and International Relations.

“I’ve had 20 years of glory and infamy. I’m not in journalism for the fame, but for a sense of achievement,” he earlier told the same paper.

Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights

Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights is one of those comedy programmes that has fast become a comedy classic. Written by popular comedian Peter Kay alongside Dave Spikey and Neil Fitzmaurice, it has a mixture of both visual comedy and play on words. We were treated to a double bill from the start of the second series of the programme.

Peter Kay plays two characters – Brian Potter, owner of the Phoenix club and Max, the bouncer. His sidekick is Jerry St. Clair (Dave Spikey), would-be entertainer. Brian is sometimes known as “Ironside” and he spouts orders from the comfort of his wheelchair. He also introduces song lyrics into his conversations , for example “ridicule is nothing to be scared of”(Prince Charming, Adam and the Ants), and “Woaah woaah woaah woaah sweet child of mine”, (Sweet Child of Mine, Guns ‘N Roses).

The episode started with Den Perry (Brian’s nemesis) burning down his beloved Phoenix Club with a cigar. Brian appeared in court – he had forged insurance documents, was not complying with fire safety regulations (he had no working smoke alarms), and he was deemed as unfit to trade alcohol. Thus that was the end of the Phoenix Club and the staff went on to other jobs which included:

• Driving Asian Elders to the local mosque whilst singing along with “Amarillo” on Chorley FM – Paddy and Max
• Selling meat – Les the drummer
• Acting as lollypop man - Kenny
• Supervising a kids’ fairground ride whilst pretending to act as a DJ “Shabba” – Ray Von
• Promoting goods in a supermarket. Jerry and Alan were selling black bin bags using the lyrics of

“Come and get your black bin bags – they’re long and black and slender”

“Heavy duty black bin bags, not matter what your gender”

“Heavy duty black bin bags, bi or straight or bender”

After spending time with his friend, Frank Cartwright (Jim Bowen) in Blackpool, Brian decided to reopen the Phoenix Club. This would be tricky as he had no money, license nor brewery. However he got over this obstacle by having only bottled beer and cans and asking Jerry to me licensee. At a meeting of the staff, Brian said that we wanted the Phoenix to be a complete experience serving food “Garlic bread, it’s the future, I have tasted it!”.

The second episode saw the gang organising a family fun day, whilst Paddy and Max went to France to buy the booze. The fun day had rides; face painting (which turned out to be with permanent paint), Brian’s Pink Palace (a converted portable toilet which was “modernised” to be a children’s play area and featured a ball pool (footballs from the roof))’ Madame Zelda, psychic; an inflatable (which turned out to be not family friendly in the shape of men’s genitalia and exploded) and Jerry the Berry who looked like an extra from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Phoenix Nights is a laugh a minute!

Sopranos lead Emmy nominations

US TV mob drama The Sopranos has come out as an early favourite to win a hat full of Emmy awards garnering 15 nominations.

In the top category of best drama, The Sopranos final season is up against Grey’s Anatomy, Boston Legal, Heroes and Hugh Laurie’s House.

The best comedy features the US version of The Office, Ugly Betty, Two and a Half Men, 30 Rock and Entourage.

British contenders for prices include Minnie Driver in Riches, Ricky Gervais in Extras, Dame Helen Mirren in Prime Suspect, also up for best miniseries, and Jim Broadbent in Longford, which is nominated for best TV movie. Laurie is also up for best actor in House.

Gervais, no stranger to picking up US awards for the Office, is nominated for best acting, writing and directing for Extras. Sir Ian McKellen is nominated for best guest performance in Extras as himself.

Most nominations went to TV movie Bury My heart at Wounded Knee, which is up for gongs in 17 categories.

Who Do You Think You Are?

“Who Do You Think You Are?” is a programme about celebrities trying to find out more about their ancestors, based on the scant information that they have from parents, grandparents, or family members. It gives an insight into the various sources of information available to budding genealogists – such as old Census records, birth, death and marriage certificates, baptism and parish records.

The programme featured actor John Hurt who was born in Derbyshire, but brought up with his elder brother Michael and adopted sister Monica. John is the son of a Church of England clergyman and his brother has also followed into the Church, but as a monk in an Abbey in the west of Ireland.

John Hurt visited Dublin 40 years ago as a young actor and felt some affinity with Ireland. His brother thought that their great grandmother, Emma Stafford was the illegitimate daughter of a Marquis of Sligo. Emma married Walter Lord Browne who was clearly a man with delusions of grandeur. He built a school in Grimsby and called it Westport House (which is also the Ancestral home of the Marquis of Sligo), thus perpetuating the myth.

John Hurt met the current 11th Marquis of Sligo – Jeremy Browne and they determined that the second Marquis, Howe Peter Browne who was a friend of Byron and had a reputation for being entangled with many women. The aristocracy sometimes made their illegitimate children as a ward of chancery, which protected certain details about parentage. This was only awarded where the parents were of means and Emma had been made a ward of chancery. Thus, it was possible that the Marquis could have been her father. However, it was later discovered that Emma Stafford’s parents were recorded as Edward and Emma Stafford and that her husband was her first cousin. She was brought up in a boarding school and went on to become a governess.

As her husband had the same surname as the Marquis of Sligo – Browne, it was then thought that the aristocratic link was to John Hurt’s great grandfather, Walter, instead. Further examination of records and in particular, the occupation of his great great grandfather for the Bond Office (customs), showed that Walter inflated the importance of his father’s job (saying that he was head of the Bond Office, when he was a clerk). A copy of Walter’s obituary was found which referred to him being descended from the Marquis of Sligo but there were no links in the family trees of both families.

John Hurt was disappointed to find that he had no connections at all with Ireland.

Teen Potter too young for Tardis

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe would be too young to be a Doctor Who, claims a former timelord.

Ex-Doctor Who Peter Davison said he was against Radcliffe taking over as the man from Gallifrey.

Davison was 29 when he took over the controls of the Tardis from Tom Baker, but claims that a younger doctor barely out of his teens would belittle the TV institution.

He said: “What’s wrong with there being an older doctor? I don’t think that such a young man would be a good idea - it might end up like a children’s show.”

The latest Doctor Who David Tennant has scotched rumours that the time-travelling do-gooder would be heading to a new regeneration.

It was thought that Jekyll star James Nesbitt could become the 11th doctor.

However, it has been announced that after the next series is filmed, Tennant will take a year off to head to the stage to flex his acting muscles and tread the boards with Royal Shakespeare Company, starting off as Hamlet.

Take on the Takeaway

Take on the Takeaway is a challenge and cookery programme combined. In each episode, a guest chef takes on a takeaway to see if they can be beaten in terms of price, speed and taste. The programme airs on a daily basis.

In this episode we met Patrick and Shirley from South London. They have a busy lifestyle and order takeaways 3 or 4 times a week from their local Caribbean takeaway. Ainsley Harriott is the guest chef who takes on the challenge of cooking traditional Jamaican fare of Jerk Chicken with rice and peas and plantain (which is the couple’s favourite dish).

First off is the price test. Ainsley buys all of the ingredients that he needs for the challenge at a cost of £13.58 to feed two people. The takeaway costs a total of £18, so Ainsley wins the first challenge.

The next challenge is a race against the clock – which Ainsley is used to after hosting “Ready Steady Cook”. Ainsley needs to prepare the meal using fresh ingredients and his time is compared with the time it takes for the takeaway to prepare, cook and deliver the food. Dean from the programme is acting as “delivery boy” and will call Ainsley once the takeaway is ready and he is setting off.

The challenge starts with the order being placed and Ainsley preparing the food. He is at an instant disadvantage as he needs to prepare his own marinade for the chicken and the takeaway have pre-marinated chicken. Ainsley cooks the chicken using a traditional oven, whilst the takeaway barbeque the chicken and chop it up (when cooked). Both Ainsley and the restaurant use fresh ingredients – rice, kidney beans, coconut milk, whole chillies, onions and plantain for the meal. However, the restaurant is slower - 6 minutes 35 seconds behind, which gives Ainsley time to prepare his own salsa and Guinness cocktail.

The final challenge is the taste test when Shirley and Patrick eat the meals totally blindfolded and score the meals. Shirley starts with high marks and gives 9/10 to the takeaway and Patrick awards it 7/10. Both award 10/10 to the second meal and are amazed to find it is the meal that Ainsley cooked, meaning he has won all three challenges.

Ainsley’s parting advice was for the couple to reduce the number of takeaways that they order and cook their own food – a cheaper, quicker and tastier option.

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