Come Dine with Me

COME DINE WITH ME now occupies a large slice of Channel 4's daytime schedule, with episodes running at lunchtime, late afternoon and most of Saturday afternoon. Channel 4's sister station More4 runs more episodes in the early evening. Watching several episodes back to back allows certain themes to emerge: the food selection by each contestant is often repetitive; the contestants have entrenched attitudes; their judgments are affected very much by the desire to win the competition; and all of them are more than ready to act in front of the ubiquitous television camera. Dave Lamb's narration contributes to the overall jokey atmosphere, as he makes fun of the contestants' pretensions. From a sociological perspective, however, COME DINE WITH ME is a fascinating text, as it encapsulates within each twenty-five-minute episode the enduring class, gender and age prejudices of most of the contestants. Anyone who thinks that contemporary Britain has changed in terms of its social structure, as compared with, say, half a century ago, would have their assumptions readily undermined here. Snobberies, racial prejudices, and gender jealousies still exist, even if they are perhaps more politely expressed than they might have once been.

I normally loathe reality television but this series is quite addictive.

It offers the viewer into the homes and lives of a group of ordinary people who , thankfully, and unusually in terms of reality TV , don't expect to get a career out of it.

Its fascinating to see the way that "normal" people conduct themselves on TV.Vanities are often reduced to a million tiny pieces, sometimes amusingly so.A fine example being the hairdresser who wanted to be surrounded by beautiful people " like you'd find in the pages of Hello".

Clearly this individual has no self awareness and no mirror. I watch this show religiously.

Come Dine With Me, a staple of British and Irish TV screens during dinner time. Some of the memorable TV moments came from CDWM. It must be said, the show would just not be what it is without Dave Lamb, the voice-over host/narrator. His dry-wit always delivers a chuckle.

The format is simple but very fun, and all the recipes are put up on the channel's website (for better or worse!) I used to watch this show all the time as a kid, and I put that down to Lamb. One of the first meals I cooked was an Indian curry dish I saw on the show. If you're ever flicking through the channels, it's worth a stop at CDWM.

5 strangers vie to win £1000 prize each stranger hosts and prepares a 3 course homemade meal the diners then score the meal each out of 10 In secret. At the end of the week when all have hosted the scores are revealed and the highest score wins the money. I love this show the people who are hosts are all so different and interesting the narration in between is done by Dave Lamb he is excellent his dry sarcastic humour has me in fits of laughter and he really makes this show .

If you have never watched it and get the chance I would highly recommend

I am consistently amazed by the total cleanliness that the homes of the contestants boast only to then observe some decidedly poor cooking hygiene.

That goes for the celebrity versions too. On one Celebrity Come Dine With Me, we see Anneka Rice drop a bag full of fresh squid rings onto her kitchen carpet, only to scoop it up, request that the clip not be included before throwing it all unrinsed back into the paella pan. Inexcusable lenience for the most basic food handling laws.

The ongoing narration adds well to the humorous side of the show although many recipes are not helpful for regular home-cooking since in order to impress the dinner guests, hosts have a frequent tendency to push the boat out and many dishes are decadent in terms of calorific content and unsuitable for daily consumption. Contestants also have an allocated budget meaning they can afford a more upmarket joint of meat or the better catch of the day.

What is appealing is the "fly on the wall" aspect of this programme. Once the small talk is over with, we the viewers get to see the real opinions of the guests as they are interviewed separately and on occasion the over-the-table banter leads to upset and disquiet as we see dominant personalities clash.

Somewhat of a cult show, it is definitely worth one watch, even if, like me, you do not necessarily favour cookery programmes. The comedic element is what sells this truly worthwhile programme!