ITV are all set to bring back the celebrity version of Hell’s Kitchen and have got Michelin-starred chef Marco Pierre White to take on Gordon Ramsay‘s role.
Hells Kitchen ran for two series and was a ratings winner for ITV1.
The new series will see Pierre White – who retired from the kitchen seven years ago – battle to turn a group of as yet unnamed celebrity trainees into chefs over two weeks.
They’ll be following the same format as previous contestants, asked to serving up meals in a special restaurant to a clientele of other celebrities.
ITV will be hoping Pierre White has the same pulling power as Ramsay, who defected to Channel 4 after the first Hell’s Kitchen run.
ITV head of factual entertainment Richard Cowles said: "Marco Pierre
White is a kitchen legend and we are very excited to have coaxed him
out of retirement and into Hell’s Kitchen. He is the man responsible
for teaching some of the country’s greatest chefs – Gordon Ramsay and
Heston Blumenthal both worked in his kitchens. It’s going to be
fascinating to see whether, after seven years away from the kitchen,
Marco’s fiery passion still burns bright – I suspect that time hasn’t
mellowed him."
Pierre White, who was the first British chef to achieve three Michelin
stars, added: "I won’t be thinking of the trainees as celebrities. What I’ll be looking for is talent. I want to see tears, I want to
hear laughter, I want to see people fight and I want to see people
learn. I might be the hardest person they’ll have ever met but I’ve got a
heart just as big. It’s about picking people up off the floor and
inspiring them to want to carry on ’til the end."
The first series of Hell’s Kitchen featured a group of celebrities,
with actress Jennifer Ellison coming out on top.
Ramsay’s move to Channel 4 saw a revamp of the format for the
second series with celebrities replaced with members of the public who
were divided into two teams led by Gary Rhodes and Jean-Christophe
Novelli. An American version, helmed by Ramsay, has also proved popular for Fox,
with a third season featuring members of the public due to start in
March [Mof Gimmers]
