Jamie: I won’t go back to the Beeb
IT is now 20 years since he appeared on a BBC documentary about The River Cafe in London and then landed his own series.
But it looks like Jamie Oliver won’t be moving back to the Beeb any time soon, branding it “ridiculous” when it comes to budgets and contracts.
Asked about a return to the corporation, where he had series The Naked Chef from 1999, Jamie says: “I was born in the Beeb and part of me would like to go back there.
“But they are ridiculous to work for. The budget and the presenter’s fees – I am happy to take a cut. But the confusion and entanglement and what you can do. No way. Channel 4 is way better to work for.”
Jamie is on the channel tonight as new series Quick & Easy Food continues.
He admits feeling foolish the idea for it has only just come to him. “It has taken 20 years. It’s so obvious, why has it taken me so long?
“Everyone is nuts about speed in cooking and I addressed that. Then there is cost and I addressed that.
“With this show I can count the ingredients on one hand and you only have to buy a few things on the way home from work in busy Britain today. That is kind of relevant. “It is really simple, a 12-year-old could learn it and you could teach it in school.”
When we mentioned his 20th anniversary he told us: “You look in the mirror and try to recognise yourself. I watch Quick & Easy and think ‘f*** I look old’.”
He also backed C4’s decision to buy Bake Off. He says it is the only TV cooking show apart from his own he watches, because his whole family like to sit down and enjoy it.