Here at TVScoop, we are more than interested in what the nation watches... I mean, we're part of that number as well. One trend that is seemingly creeping up unnoticed, and growing in popularity, is shows that can only be described as 'family viewing'.

Show's like Outnumbered have caused quite a stir amongst the public even though the broadcasters will have you believe that the biggest growth area is homegrown alternative comedy. Outnumbered features TV's greatest current character. Karen, played by Ramona Marquez, is a whirling dervish that has to be seen to be believed. Even though this show is achingly un-hip, it's dragging quite a few bums on seats and has various internet chatrooms buzzing with excitement... and it doesn't stop with sitcoms about middle class families.

Cookery shows are also gathering snowball like. Rachel Allen is becoming a fave of the nation without much fanfare. Where Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay and the Cook Yourself Thin lot have all appeared in a flurry of marketing and super sharp editing, Rachel Allen has quietly gone about her business making tasty honest grub and winning friends all the way.

As a TV critic, there's is nothing I like more than a show that challenges me, stirs the grey matter and throws new ideas around that haven't really been seen before. However, the single show I've watched more than any this year is the preposterously good Saturday Kitchen with James Martin. The format is so simple and yet so very very satisfying. My weekend starts with Saturday kitchen's unique brand of inoffensive fun and fact.

It seems that this kind of programming... namely kind, good natured and wholesome... is making a comeback. Is the nation tiring of cynical shows like X Factor, Big Brother and You Are What You Eat, which, essentially, deal with rejection and cruelty? It certainly seems that way. The upsurge in shows that hurt no-one are creeping up on the blind side, and we'll all be in some kind of TV Shangri-La before we know it. Given the choice, I'd go for Hugh Dennis over Nicky Hambleton-Jones any day of the week. [Mof Gimmers]