Latest news with #cookery
The Sun
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Meghan & Harry's Netflix deal disaster is killing their US dream – how will they fund their incredibly lavish life now?
LIKE a slowly collapsing soufflé, the Duchess of Sussex's 'narcissistic' cookery show has been judged a ratings flop – and Netflix has decided to pull the plug. The streamer will let the five-year, $100million deal they inked with Meghan and Harry for that series and a host of other shows quietly lapse when it is due for renewal in September. 8 8 A source at Netflix said of Meghan's efforts: 'She had everything going for her — name, platform, press — and the numbers were dismal.' Lifestyle and cookery show With Love, Meghan only ranked at number 383 in Netflix's six-monthly engagement report this year, with just 5.3million viewers across the globe. Described by one critic as an 'exercise in narcissism', it was beaten by reruns of the first four seasons of legal drama Suits, which also starred the Duchess in her pre-royal days. Once judged by some as Britain's greatest soft power asset since Princess Diana, Meghan was filmed for her show making ladybird-shaped canapes from cherry tomatoes and mozzarella balls. 'Dull indulgence' Even The Guardian was moved to describe With Love, Meghan as 'the sort of gormless lifestyle filler that, had it been made by the BBC, would be used to bulk out episodes of Saturday Kitchen'. In truth, the show is a smash hit compared to her husband's vanity docuseries Polo, blasted as 'a dull indulgence about a rich person's pursuit'. In the first six months of the year the programme attracted a disastrous 500,000 views globally, ranking it at number 3,442 out of around 7,000 shows. Reruns of the nine-year-old cartoon He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe scored similar numbers. A Netflix insider has pronounced the couple's lucrative contract 'dead', adding: 'They're just waiting for the credits to roll. 'They're letting it expire without drama. There's no appetite for anything new.' The end of what many regarded as a reliable source of vast income for the former HRHs has set off a bomb under Project Sussex and its bold ambitions. And of course it is not the Sussexes' first media deal that has gone south. Their reported $20million podcasting deal with Spotify was terminated in June 2023, with senior Spotify executive Bill Simmons labelling the duo 'f***ing grifters'. Hosted by Meghan, the Archetypes podcast featured conversations with friends and celebrities including Serena Williams, Mariah Carey and Trevor Noah. Critics said that in the episode with Williams it took 11 minutes before the tennis legend got a word in edgeways. In 2023 Simmons said: 'I wish I had been involved in the 'Meghan and Harry leave Spotify' negotiation. 'The F***ing Grifters. That's the podcast we should have launched with them. 'I have got to get drunk one night and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry to try and help him with a podcast idea. 'It's one of my best stories. F*** them. The grifters.' The Sussexes' undoubted TV hit was docuseries Harry & Meghan, released in December 2022. It became Netflix's biggest documentary debut, with more than 28million watching in the first four days of its release. In it the couple accused the Royal Family of 'unconscious bias' and claimed Palace aides were complicit in negative media briefings against them. 8 8 Podcast boss Simmons said of Harry that year: 'You live in f***ing Montecito and you just sell documentaries and podcasts and nobody cares what you have to say about anything unless you talk about the Royal Family and you just complain about them.' While the Netflix deal will lapse, Meghan's As Ever collection of wine, jam and cookies is displaying 'sold out' signs on her website. It raises the question of whether it will be her earnings that are increasingly relied upon to fund the family's expensive Hollywood lifestyle, and if so, will it be enough? PR expert Nick Ede believes that in the future the Duchess will provide the surest revenue stream, saying: 'Meghan is the best way of making money for the two of them. 'She is the breadwinner.' However, marketing experts Camille Moore and Phillip Millar accused Meghan's As Ever brand of being 'not intelligent' and 'not well executed'. Speaking on The Art Of The Brand podcast this week, Millar accused Meghan of trying to rinse the maximum value from her 'fame that came from Suits and being a part of the Royal Family'. Millar added: 'Her brand wasn't one built on substance. It was based on using people.' Meanwhile, Harry, who has two paying jobs — with sustainable tourism firm Travalyst and coaching company BetterUp — seems most passionate when he is undertaking his charitable endeavours. During a recent trip to Angola, The Duke followed in the footsteps of Princess Diana by walking through a minefield on behalf of his charity The Halo Trust. 'Life of service' Harry said in a statement: 'As a father to young children, it breaks my heart to see innocent children still living and playing next to minefields,' Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond commented: 'I think this is precisely the sort of work that Harry should do. 'It is not only a hugely worth-while cause, but it also connects him with his mother, which is something he yearns for. 'I think he is coming to recognise that the LA celebrity world is one in which he is not especially comfortable. 'And he seems quite willing to let Meghan take the limelight over there. 'He speaks frequently about a life of service, and trips like this certainly serve a very good cause indeed.' Yet charity missions, while good for the soul, do not pay the bills. And the Sussexes' court in the Californian sunshine is not a cheap enterprise. Their home, a nine-bedroom, 16-bathroom mansion close to the Pacific in Montecito, is in America's fifth most expensive postcode. 8 8 They bought it for almost £11million after the drama of Megxit in 2020, and the following year Harry said in his tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey that his father has 'literally cut me off financially'. Without the money left to him by Diana — said to be £10million — Harry said 'we would not have been able to do this'. Harry's finances got a boost last September when he turned 40 and a fund set up by the late Queen Mother gave him access to around £8million. But while most people could live very well on that kind of cash, Harry and Meghan's lifestyle is not like most people's. They have more in common with the super-rich of California than your average couple. Indeed, they are said to have mortgage payments of around £350,000 a year, while staffing costs come to an estimated £180,000. Harry has also spent on court cases and could be in line for a £1.5million bill for his failed attempt to get the Home Office to pay for his security in the UK. Security is a very real worry for Prince Harry, who served two tours of Afghanistan. Former royal protection officer Simon Morgan estimated the Sussexes' protection costs come to at least £3million a year, adding: 'Security is not a fashion accessory, it's a need.' EYE-WATERING TAB It leaves the Sussexes with an eye-watering tab just to meet their estimated outgoings. Last month, royal financial expert Norman Baker told Channel 5 show Meghan And Harry: Where Did The Money Go? that the Sussexes' earning potential was on the wane. The former Liberal Democrat MP said: 'They've done the big hits that they could do. 'They've done the big Spotify event, they've done the big book, there is nothing else to come, nothing else to sell apart from themselves.' Harry's autobiography Spare became the fastest-selling non-fiction book ever and has gone on to sell more than six million copies worldwide. With their Netflix deal over, perhaps Meghan will feel the time is right for her to release her own blockbuster tome to get the cash registers ringing again. Both Netflix and Harry and Meghan are yet to comment. 8 8
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Tom Kerridge reveals the European destination with the best food - amid rumours he's set to replace John Torode on MasterChef
Could British superchef Tom Kerridge be the man to take hugely successful BBC cookery show MasterChef into a new era, following the highly controversial departures of presenting duo John Torode and Gregg Wallace? The odds on it happening are shortening by the day, but he wouldn't put a bet on himself - at least not for now. The 51-year-old tells MailOnline Travel: 'The phone hasn't rang yet! I doubt it will be me but whoever does get the role has a magical experience coming their way. It's a phenomenal show.' Kerridge is a busy man, and shoehorning one of Britain's biggest TV shows into a schedule that already includes running a six-restaurant empire - said to be worth more than £37million - that started with his two Michelin-starred pub The Hand and Flowers in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, wouldn't be easy. He already spends nine weeks a year filming another BBC hit, Great British Menu, and has just finished filming the follow-up to Tom Kerridge Cooks Britain, which bagged more than a million viewers per episode when it aired on ITV in the autumn. For the follow-up series, airing this week and in collaboration with M&S Food, he's pointed his compass at Spain, spending five weeks trundling a bright blue 1980s Mercedes truck north to south, east to west in Britain's favourite holiday destination - and saying hola! to some very unique producers. 'One of the characters we met - and I loved this guy so much - was called Juan. He's a rice farmer but he's also a former Spain's strongest man. 'The juxtaposition between this absolute giant monster of a man who's up at five in the morning training, and then he's spending this wonderful, tranquil time in the rice fields sowing his rice plants.' That Spain even has rice fields - Tom visited the Ebro Delta in the Catalonia region - was amazing to the chef, who grew up with a single mum on a council estate in Gloucestershire, with childhood holidays rare. 'The highlight of the whole series for me was probably those paddy fields. When you think of rice fields you always think of South-east Asia - but of course, Spain's most famous dish is paella!' He loved the 'amazing' anchovies in the Bay Of Biscay, saying the northern Spanish coastal towns felt 'like a really hot Cornwall' with their rugged coastline and cobalt horizons - 'and the working fishing ports were beautiful and brilliant'. The weather was universally hot, except for one day of filming in Seville in which the series celebrated the city's famous oranges, for which Kerridge conjured up citrus-inspired dishes. 'The region has more sunshine than any other part of Spain - except the day that we visited, when it was like a November day in Oldham, throwing it down with rain and freezing cold.' How's his Spanish? He laughs: 'Really rubbish. I haven't got a brain for languages. It's just not there. I love culture and I love meeting new people and learning new words... but they don't stay in my brain.' Exploring the world is something Kerridge, who's married to sculptor Beth Cullen, says he's still learning to do. His childhood summer holidays were mostly spent 'hanging around having fun with my mates' on the estate where he grew up - although two classic British bucket-and-spade destinations did feature. Tranquility: For new series Tom Kerridge Cooks Spain, the chef headed for the paddy fields on Spain's Ebro Delta - and found a former Spain strongman planting rice 'To be honest, I didn't really have many holidays [as a child]. We had a couple to the Isle of Wight, my mum, myself and my brother. 'We went probably two or three years in a row to a holiday camp, staying in chalets. It felt really important for me because we went on a ferry - it felt like we were properly leaving, we weren't just driving there.' There's big nostalgia for Weston-super-Mare in the Bristol Channel too, where the family would take day trips to the beach. 'It's only down the M5 from where I grew up in Gloucester. It was a big holiday town and I still have huge fond memories of Western, I think it's amazing.' He didn't get on a plane 'until I was 18' and holidays didn't feature while he was carving out the stellar career that's made him one of Britain's most famous chefs. 'I was in the kitchen as an 18-year-old and that was it. I don't regret it at all - I loved every minute of it. 'The first holiday that I probably went on was with my wife Beth. We went to a small little Greek island and it was it was magic. 'I just remember thinking, wow, holidays are amazing. I can't believe I've waited until I'm 25 to do this.' Kerridge took a retro 1980s Mercedes truck around Spain for his latest ITV series Tom pictured as a child, he grew up on a Gloucester council estate and says holidays were a rarity - and became even more scarce as he threw everything at making it as a top chef 'Now, we always try to go back to one of the Greek islands, I like Crete a lot. It's a four-hour flight, the weather is beautiful, the people are lovely. 'The vocabulary of Greek food is very, very simple too but you can always get something pretty tasty, whether it's grilled fish, simply roasted potatoes or just a Greek salad.' He's determined to make up for lost time on the holiday front and 'expand our horizons. With wife Beth and son Acey, nine, the family escapes two or three times a year now, he says, with winter sun, a European summer jaunt and an annual trip to Carrara in Tuscany, where Beth sources the marble for her sculptures, their general routine. 'In all honesty, I normally do what I'm told. I'm super busy so my wife books the holidays! We try and get some winter sun, we'll have Christmas with the family, then go away for New Year with another chef and his family. This year it was Thailand, which was phenomenal.' You won't find him by the pool though with a book though. 'I'm not very good at sitting on a sunbed and doing nothing. 'I'll be there for about six minutes and then I'll say "what are we doing now?". It drives my wife nuts.' Thankfully, he's got a partner in crime to turn to. 'I'm quite lucky that my son's nine - we're more like brothers, to be honest. The star took his first proper holiday with now wife Beth Cullen, a sculptor, when he was 25 and says while he can't sit still on beach breaks - he's got a partner in crime, son Acey, nine, to have adventures with Family favourite: The top chef is a big fan of Greece and Greek food, saying simple dishes such as salads, grilled fish and potatoes are done really well (Pictured: Crete) 'We'll say: "Let's go play somewhere with the ball. Let's go throw something at something. Let's go swimming. Should we go find a go-kart track? What about going on a jet ski?" 'Later in the day, Beth comes and finds us somewhere. 'By the time she's read her book and is ready for lunch, we've played seventeen games of table tennis, had a go at water skiing and flown a kite.' Speaking of lunch... when it comes to holiday food, Tom says he's not always expecting culinary alchemy - 'bog standard is fine' - but there's destinations he rates with his chef's hat on: 'Singapore is always amazing, Hong Kong is also brilliant and Asia is somewhere I'd like to go a lot more to. 'I'd love to do India and Sri Lanka. We try to expand our horizons and go and eat in as many places and visit as many places as possible.' He reluctantly admits he didn't like Portugal - saying a burger he ate at a water park was 'one of the worst things I've ever eaten' - but is forgiving. 'I think it was the wrong time of year, we went to the wrong place and it wasn't Portugal's fault.' Over the border in Spain for his most recent TV adventure though, it was, happily, a much better foodie proposition - with easy-to-recreate dishes in the new series including crispy tempura anchovies, a pork chop and white-bean stew and yes, paella. 'I loved seeing how rich and vast the country is with so many different varying areas. 'You've got foodie Meccas such as Catalonia, Andalucia and San Sebastian - it's a country that's so full of passion for food, for flavour and for life. 'It was great doing the Britain show and it's been magic now adding Spain too.'
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
What does the future hold for popular BBC show Masterchef?
Why is MasterChef in the news? The popular BBC cookery show is at the centre of a long-running controversy following complaints about the behaviour of its co-presenter, Gregg Wallace . Though his on-screen persona is of an avuncular everyday bloke, off-camera, he is accused of using inappropriate sexual language and, in one instance, initiating unwelcome physical contact. Other complaints include that he pulled down his trousers in front of a coworker. Then Rod Stewart weighed in. Rod Stewart? The singer's wife, Penny Lancaster, appeared on Celebrity MasterChef in 2021 and, according to Stewart, Wallace 'humiliated' her on set. 'Good Riddance, Wallace… You humiliated my wife when she was on the show, but you had that part cut out, didn't you?' he wrote on social media. 'You're a tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully. Karma got ya.' What was Wallace's response to the allegations? He initially fought tooth and nail for his job. He admitted using inappropriate language, but denied the more serious charges. 'I will not go quietly,' Wallace wrote on Instagram. 'I will not be cancelled for convenience. I was tried by media and hung out to dry well before the facts were established. The full story of this incredible injustice must be told and it is very much a matter of public interest.' Did he have anything else to say? He claimed his behaviour could be attributed to undiagnosed autism and said that, as a neurodiverse person, the BBC had not done enough to support him. 'Nothing was done to investigate my disability or protect me from what I now realise was a dangerous environment for over 20 years.' READ MORE How did the BBC respond? The corporation commissioned an external investigation by law firm Lewis Silkin into Wallace's conduct which has now substantiated 45 allegations against him, including the use of inappropriate sexual language and physical contact. He was fired last week . So co-presenter John Torode will have to front the show on his own? Not quite. The external report also upheld a complaint that Torode used 'racist language' in 2018 . He said he had no recollection of having done so, but the BBC has sacked him. Where does that leave MasterChef? Up in the air. The 21st season was due to air in February but has been put on hold – a huge setback for the amateur chefs who put blood, sweat and tears into competing for the title. This week, BBC's director general Tim Davie said he was reflecting on whether it is appropriate to broadcast the episodes. [ Gregg Wallace dropped by BBC over doubts he could 'change behaviour' Opens in new window ] 'Those amateur chefs gave a lot to take part, it means a lot, it can be an enormous break if you come through the show,' he said. 'So I want to just reflect on that with the team and make a decision, and we'll communicate that in due course.'
Daily Mail
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain hits out at BBC after they axed her show as she claims 'they will keep you until you're of no use to them'
Bake Off star Nadiya Hussain has taken aim at the BBC after they axed her series of cookery shows - insisting 'they'll keep you until you're of no use'. The winner of the 2015 edition of the baking competition revealed last month that the broadcaster had decided not to renew her programme. Nadiya, 40, later claimed she had been 'treated unfairly' by the BBC in a social media post as she lashed out over the cancellation. The TV personality said: 'I am allowed to feel angry when I'm treated unfairly.' Nadiya has now spoken to Paul C Brunson on the We Need to Talk podcast, as she discussed what it means to be a Muslim woman in British media. When asked if 'speaking her truth' was behind their decision not to renew her commitments with the BBC, she said: 'I kind of accepted in my head that I was very BBC, I suppose it means that they've got me exactly where they want me, I'm utterly unbiased, .. 'And just they've got me where they want me. Neutral. And I am not neutral. I have opinions and I have things to say.' Giving her own view of what happened, she said: 'They'll keep you till you're of no use to them. And I think that's what happened.' After winning the Great British Bake Off, Nadiya fronted several shows including Nadiya's Asian Odyssey, Nadiya's Cook Once Eat Twice and Nadiya's Time to Eat. Nadiya claimed she was never given an exact reason as to why they couldn't commission her show. She continued: 'It was interesting because my husband and I always spoke about it and he just said, there's going to be a point where they're not going to need you anymore. And the second you don't fit the box, like they have a neat little box, when you don't fit that box anymore, there'll be no space for you. 'And I suppose I don't fit that space anymore. And to be fair, I'm not comfortable in boxes anyway. I prefer a glass ceilings to smash through, thank you very much.' She said: 'I was always made to feel like my trophy was just going to get taken away from me. Because as somebody, because I felt like I had to always be grateful. I had to be consistently grateful for the opportunity that I was given. 'A Muslim that was relatable, like the People's Muslim, the people's person of colour, the digestible version of myself. On what's next for Nadiya, the TV chef said: 'You know what, I think I'm going to be the truest, most honest version of myself, entirely unfiltered, with no management, nobody to tell me what I can do, can't do, can say, can't say.' A BBC spokesperson said: 'After several wonderful series we have made the difficult decision not to commission another cookery show with Nadiya Hussain at the moment. 'Nadiya remains a much valued part of the BBC family, and we look forward to working together on future projects.' Last month in a video uploaded to Instagram, Nadiya said: 'I've received tonnes of messages since talking about my situation with the BBC. Messages from people telling me to be grateful for the opportunity and be thankful for how far I've come. 'Now my whole life as a child in an immigrant household, I used to think I had to be grateful all the time because I watched my family always grateful, grateful for being let in, grateful for having work, even if underpaid, grateful for safety, even if it meant silence, always grateful. 'Grateful even when I feel tired, lonely or disrespected. At first, gratitude felt right because it was instilled in me from a young age, it's all I saw. 'But after a while it starts to get really heavy. Gratitude became something that I was expected to wear like a uniform, anytime I voiced frustration or sadness or wanted more, I could feel the invisible pressure, like how dare you complain? Aren't you just lucky to be here?' She added: 'But, here's what I've come to understand. I'm allowed to feel more than just thankful. I am a human being and I am allowed to feel angry when I'm treated unfairly, I'm allowed to want better for myself and for my family. 'I'm allowed to speak up, I'm allowed to exist, I'm allowed to exist fully complex, emotional, hopeful, sometimes critical, just like anyone else. So, gratitude has its place, but it shouldn't be a muzzle. It shouldn't be a muzzle like a dog. 'We didn't come here just to survive. We came here to live, to grow, to contribute, to belong. Not as a guest, but as a person who has rights and dreams and dignity just like everyone else. 'So no, I won't always be grateful and that doesn't make me ungrateful, it makes me human. 'So I've got here through hard work, through determination, through talent. So no, I won't be grateful. I got here because I'm good at what I do. Just something to think about.' It comes after Nadiya opened up about the 'changes in her career' in an Instagram post. The chef told her 950k followers: 'One huge change is that there will be no cookery show. 'There will be no more cookery show. The BBC have decided that they didn't want to commission the show. 'And for me, that was a huge turning point for me because it's something I've done for the past 10 years. 'It was huge, I was already on this steady trajectory of change and I was thinking about where I wanted my career to go. 'And when the BBC decided they didn't want to commission the show anymore, it really did kind of solidify everything for me, and it made me dig my heels in and think 'OK, I know where I want to be".' Speaking about her experience in the industry, she added: 'And actually, it's really difficult as a Muslim woman. I work in an industry tat doesn't always support people like me or recognise my talent or my full potential. 'And as a lot gaslighting and making you feel like what's actually happening isn't happening. 'So for me it's been a huge, huge, huge change for me. But it's one that I am really excited about. 'One that I want to move in a positive direction and ultimately I want to work with people who believe in voices of people like me.' Nadiya has had a very successful career since winning GBBO 10 years ago. Shortly after the show, she landed The Chronicles of Nadiya on BBC One. The same year she was a judge on Junior Bake Off. The following year she presented an eight-part series called Nadiya's British Food Adventure. As well as her cooking series on the BBC, she's appeared on The One Show as a reporter various times, as well as ITV's Loose Women. Nadiya also has written a number of cooking books over the years. Some include Nadiya's Kitchen, Nadiya's Every Day Baking and Cook Once, Eat Twice. She's also written novels such as The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters, Spreading my Wings and Today I'm Strong.
BBC News
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Jersey school joins Jamie Oliver world-record cookery class
Students at a school in Jersey have helped break the world record for the largest ever cookery group at Beaulieu School joined a live online session led by chef Jamie Oliver, as he taught 10,515 people from across the globe how to cook fresh pasta and tomato Guinness World Record attempt was confirmed last week to have beaten the previous record of 6,778 people, which was set in Friis, Beaulieu School's head of food and nutrition, said the class on 1 July had been "a great opportunity" for the school's Year 8 and 10 students to continue building confidence. "Jamie Oliver has done such great work for food teachers and for food as a subject so 100% we were in," Ms Friis told BBC Radio Jersey."It was really fun seeing everybody having ago. We all learned something new and had a great time." Vene, 13, said: "It's a little bit surprising. I've never done anything like this before, but it's truly an honour to be picked for this."The event took place on Zoom, and participants were required to follow along with the tutorial. It served as a natural follow-on from the student's recent lessons learning how to cook in the school kitchen."I didn't know how to cook and I was really insecure when I was in the kitchen," said Vene."But these lessons have really taught me how to cook and whenever I have to look after my sister now I can make her a full meal without having any problems."
