TOM KERRIDGE and the BBC seemed to go together like fish and chips.
But after 13 years on the channel where he made his name, the Michelin-starred chef has been poached by ITV.
The down-to-earth celeb, famed for his pub grub, will tour the UK for the new show, cooking up regional dishes for local people.
Tom shot to fame in 2010 as a contestant on one of the Beeb’s flagship programmes, Great British Menu.
In 2012 he cemented his standing as one of the country’s most exciting new telly cooks on MasterChef: The Professionals.
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He has featured on a series of shows for the corporation since.
A source said: “While he has appeared in programmes on all the networks, the BBC has always been Tom’s broadcasting home so a move to ITV is a big deal.
“He made his name on the Great British Menu and even returned as a judge later.
“But golden handcuff deals rarely stand these days, with a raft of former BBC darlings including Claudia Winkleman and Graham Norton signing to work on other channels.
“Either way, it’s great news for viewers. Tom’s easy style will work well for ITV.”
The show, which has the working title Tom Kerridge Cooks Britain, will begin production this year and comes from the team behind ITV’s Cooking With The Stars.
Several of Tom’s BBC shows centred on his huge weight loss nine years ago, when he slimmed from 30st to 18st, with titles including Tom Kerridge’s Fresh Start.
It sounds like he’ll be getting just that thanks to ITV.
MASTERSTROKE ON GRUB AT C4
CHANNEL 4 is cooking up a chaotic new twist on hit show Taskmaster.
The team behind Greg Davies and Alex Horne's comedy panel game show format are working on a new version called Foodmaster.
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Just like in the original, comedy guests will be challenged to use wacky methods and bootleg inventions – but this time to serve grub.
A source said: “Everything is better once you add food and drink.
“The show promises to deliver all that Taskmaster goodness and more.
“Greg and Alex won’t be involved in this one, but the team are ready to film the pilot soon and Channel 4 will then consider taking it to a full run.”
All things considered, this could be a tasty new treat for viewers.
A HATT TRICK
CORRIE legend Sally Dynevor's youngest daughter Hattie is seen in her first TV role – in BBC1’s Waterloo Road.
I told in April how Hattie was joining her mum and her elder sister Phoebe – who played debutante Daphne in Netflix hit Bridgerton – in the industry.
Confirming my exclusive story, here is Hattie, 19, in her character’s uniform ahead of her debut in the school drama.
She will play an unruly youngster called Libby Guthrie and be on screens from this autumn.
Sally is chuffed with her talented youngster.
The proud mum wrote online: “I couldn’t be prouder. Love you.”
KIM CATTRALL says her hotly-anticipated cameo in the second series of Sex And The City spin-off And Just Like That will be her final hurrah as Samantha.
She filmed a secret scene for the show, which is airing now on Sky.
Asked if there was more to come, Kim said: “No. That’s as far as I’m gonna go.”
OSCAR FINDS A VOICE
THE lad who played Neil the Baby on BBC comedy Gavin & Stacey has impressed on TV again – on The Voice Kids.
Oscar Hartland won through to the next round on Saturday as part of Danny Jones' team – but he was ready for a negative response, as he has been hardened over the years.
Now 14 years old, Oscar told me: “I get trolled because of being Neil The Baby but I’ve got a thick skin.” He sang as a soloist but was shocked when coach Will.i.am then invited his rock band on stage.
Oscar said: “The band were all there backstage to support me, but then Will.i.am was like, ‘Get your band up, dude’, so we played one of our own songs – it was amazing.”
The Voice Kids continues on Saturday at 7.30pm on ITV1.
JUDY: AXE POWER ABUSERS
MUCH has been made of the raunchy scenes in Aidan Turner's upcoming tennis drama Fifteen-Love.
But court legend Judy Murray hopes the Prime Video six-parter has a worthier impact.
Aidan plays a tennis coach who has a difficult relation-ship with his protégée.
At a screening of the show – which will be released on July 21 – Judy told me: “I think it raises a lot of talking points around the abuse of power in sporting events and relationships.
“You hope a series like this will encourage others to speak up – you have to speak up. This will raise awareness.
“By speaking out, the governing bodies will start to put things in place.
“The sporting world certainly wasn’t created for women and it’s taken us such a long time to get to where we’re taken seriously.”
DAVINA McCall is terrified of AI and fears super computers will wipe out humanity.
The Masked Singer host told the Making The Cut podcast: “If a computer decides humans wreck everything, humans must go, it becomes a rational, interesting and sensible thing to do – get rid of us!”
BLUEY’S TOUR SO PUPULAR
CBEEBIES favourite Bluey is making her UK stage debut in a nine-month theatre tour.
Bluey’s Big Play will bring to life the adventures of the Australian blue heeler pup, her sister Bingo plus parents Bandit and Chilli through the use of puppets and actors.
The shows are expected to raise £12million for BBC Studios, which co-launched Bluey with ABC in 2017.
The tour will open in High Wycombe, Bucks, in December and conclude at Swansea Arena on September 1, 2024.
Ten new episodes of the Bafta-award winning show will land on Disney+ this month.
They include cameos from Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, who appears as a talking horse, and Rose Byrne, who plays Chilli’s sister Brandy.
