‘Ready Steady Cook’ Is Back, But It Will Never Be the Same Without Ainsley Harriott

The return of a legend, minus The Legend

Ready Steady Cook will return to BBC TV in 2020, fronted by the X Factor finalist Rylan Clark-Neal, and therefore missing the legend and part-time living meme that is Ainsley Harriott, who hosted the show as successor to Fern Britton from 2000 to 2010. In total, Ready Steady Cook ran for 21 seasons, and this new addition looks to set to include “contemporary” challenges. It’s not all rebooted: The £10 bag of ingredients, 20 minute time limit, and green pepper and red tomato team names look set to return; chefs slated for the series include Bristol’s Romy Gill, who recently closed her celebrated Romy’s Kitchen in Bristol, and Anna Haugh, who recently opened Myrtle in London, according to Big Hospitality. The show has earned cult status, however, largely thanks to the energy of its host. Would the show’s return be complete with the return, in turn, of Ainsley Harriott?

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