Arise Sir Jamie Oliver

Jamie Oliver is Britain's best-loved chef. His matey charm, irrepressible charisma and down-to-earth appraoch to cooking simple, delicious food have made him a household favourite the length and breadth of the country. Having been honoured with an MBE in 2003, Jmaie is now poised to receive the ultiamte accolade - a knighthood from the Queen. It wasn't always thus. Jamie originally harboured dreams of pop stardom with his band Scarlet Division, but by tha ge of 16 had decoded to become a chef. After college he earned his stripes in France and then as a pastry chef before starting at the River CafÈ, where he really learned his trade. It was during a television documentary about the River CafÈ that jamie first caught the attention of the programme's editors. His onscreen charisma meant he featured heavily in the finished documentary, the offers came flooding in, and so The Naked Chef was born. The programme was a huge success, with a really intimate and fesh approach to the television chef. Jamie's informal and playful demeanour, as well as his obvious passion and enthusiasm for food drew in a younger audience ad revolutionised the humble cokkery programme. Cooking became cool! The subsequent television series and books gave Jamie fame and fortune the world over, but he always wanted to do something positive with his success. Jamie established the Fifteen charity restaurant, where he trained 15 disadvantaged young people to work in the kitchen. The restaurant and accompanying television series proved that there is more to Jamie than his bubbly persona lets on. As if to complete his transition from cheeky chap to responsible adult, Jamie tackled his toughest challenge yet when he began a campaign to ban unhealthy food in schools and get kids eating fresh, nutritious meals. His boundless enthusiasm and passion for his cause brought him into conflict with parents, teachers and even politicians, but his desire to bring about radical change eventually saw him meet with Tony Blair and succeed in getting almost £300 million in extra funding for school meals.

Stafford Hildred is one of Britain's best-known television critics and showbusiness writers, with a long career in the media. He writes about soaps for the Sun's widley-acclaimed Tvmag. Stafford has previously written and co-written an arrany of bestselling biographies. Tim Ewbank comes from Kent and was at Aberdeen University before becoming a Fleet Street showbusiness writer. He has worked as a TV correspondent for several newspapers, including the Daily Mail, and has covered assignments all over the world for a wide range of publications including Now magazine. Tim has worked in television and radio and in collaboration with Stafford Hildred, hi is the author of bestselling biographies.