We’ve been big, big fans of The Restaurant on these pages, so it is with a little bit of sadness that we relay the news that the BBC have decided to axe The Restaurant. The show ran for three series and looked at couples competing to go into business with ace chef Raymond Blanc. Just in case you didn’t know.

According to The Guardian, the BBC believes that the format is no longer suitable because of the economic climate. In fairness, nothing quite captured the magic of the first series.

However, it isn’t all bad news for fans of Raymond.

“The Restaurant has proved a popular format with audiences, regularly attracting around two million viewers across its three series,” a BBC spokesperson said. “However, we feel the time is right for The Restaurant to close its doors after three successful series.

“Raymond is an outstanding culinary talent who is very popular with our audience and we are in discussions about a new series of Kitchen Secrets with Raymond as well as talking to him about a number of other projects.”

I think he’ll be alright for munnay don’t you?