Ainsley Harriott

Ainsley Harriott (born 28 February 1957) is an English chef, television presenter and entertainer, best known for appearing in BBC cooking shows such as Can't Cook, Won't Cook and Ready Steady Cook.

Early life

Harriott was born in London on the 28 February 1957 to Chester and Peppy Harriott. Chester's cousin was free jazz alto saxophonist Joe Harriott. Harriott trained at Westminster Kingsway College formerly Westminster Technical College, Harriott obtained an apprenticeship at Verrey's restaurant in the West End and later worked as a commis (trainee) chef.

Career

Harriott's talents also lay in comedy and singing as well as cooking and Harriott formed the Calypso Twins with schoolfriend Paul Boross, releasing a hit record in the early 1990s, "World Party". The Calypso Twins went on to be regular performers at the Comedy Store and Jongleurs; they also performed in America and on TV and radio shows. Harriott became head chef at Lord's Cricket Ground's Long Room. He was asked to present More Nosh, Less Dosh on BBC Radio 5 Live, and also has appeared as an extra in Hale and Pace.

Television work

Harriott on the set of Ready Steady Cook, August 2004

Harriott became the resident chef on Good Morning with Anne and Nick and later the main presenter of Can't Cook, Won't Cook and Ready Steady Cook, both shows involving members of the public. He has presented more straightforward how-to-cook programmes such as Ainsley's Barbecue Bible, Ainsley's Meals in Minutes, Ainsley's Big Cook Out and Ainsley's Gourmet Express.

Harriott played the part of a GELF chief in the sci-fi comedy series Red Dwarf in 1993. In 1998, for the show's 10th anniversary, Harriott presented a special edition of Can't Cook, Won't Cook called Can't Smeg, Won't Smeg with the cast of the show cooking a meal while remaining in character.

In 2000, Harriott made his debut on US television with The Ainsley Harriott Show, syndicated by Buena Vista Television, which ran for more than 100 episodes. Following this he went on to host Ready.. Set... Cook!, the US version of Ready Steady Cook. Ainsley was guest chef on Something for the Weekend on 10 May 2009 and 21 February 2010 alongside guests JLS. In February 2010, Harriott joined the morning show GMTV with Lorraine featuring cookery recipes. From 2002 until 2007, Harriott appeared in TV adverts for Fairy Liquid.

In September 2008, Harriott took part in the genealogy documentary series Who Do You Think You Are?. Harriott knew that his great-grandfather Ebenezer Harriott was in the colonial West India Regiment, and had assumed that they were descended from slaves. In Barbados, he confirmed that his great-grandfather had a distinguished military career, and learnt that he had fought for the British Empire in the Sierra Leone Hut Tax War of 1898 – an increasingly violent protest against British tax collecting in the protectorate. Although Harriott had assumed that his great-great-grandfather, James Gordon Harriott, was a black slave, he was revealed to be the descendant of a long line of white slave owners. James Harriott was found on the 1825 register, owning eight slaves. The registers had revealed that James Gordon's father was George David Harriott. A deed of sale showed that George Harriott purchased slaves from his own father when he was just four years old. The Harriott family were from Jamaica.

Harriott appeared in the final My Family Christmas special in 2010 "Mary Christmas". On 11 August 2015, he was announced as the second contestant of the thirteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing. On September 5, 2015 it was revealed Harriott was paired with professional dancer Natalie Lowe for the thirteenth series. He finished thirteenth as he was voted off on week 5.

Writing

Harriott at the Taste of London, June 2010

Harriott is a best-selling author, publishing twelve books as well as numerous others in conjunction with his television shows. Including foreign-language translations, he has sold over 2 million books worldwide.

Other work

Harriott was the President of the Television and Radio Industries Club (TRIC) 2004–05 and presented their awards ceremony that year. He markets his own range of food, including couscous, risotto, soups and cereal bars.

Harriott played the role of the Narrator in The Rocky Horror Show at the New Theatre, Cardiff in March 2010, at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley in October 2010, and again at the Richmond Theatre in November 2010.

He made a guest appearance in the BBC radio comedy series Giles Wemmbley Hogg Goes Off as himself in 2006.

Personal life

Harriott married former costume designer Clare Fellows, the youngest sister of comedian actor Graham Fellows. They have two children. In November 2012 the couple were reported to have separated and they remain on good terms.

Harriott is a supporter of Arsenal and a patron of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Filmography

Year(s)	Title	Role
1988	Hale & Pace	Extra
1990–1991	Davro	Extra
1992–1996	Good Morning with Anne and Nick	Resident chef
1993	Red Dwarf	Gelf Chief
1994–2010	Ready Steady Cook	Chef / presenter
1995–2000	Can't Cook, Won't Cook	Presenter
1997	Ainsley's Barbeque Bible	Presenter
1998	Ainsley's Meals in Minutes	Presenter
1999	Ainsley's Big Cook Out	Presenter
2000–2001	Gourmet Express	Presenter
2000–2001	Ready.. Set... Cook!	Presenter
2000	The Ainsley Harriott Show	Presenter
2003	The Mark Steel Lectures	Robert Boyle
2005–2007	City Hospital	Presenter
2013	Great British Food Revival	Presenter
2015	Ainsley Harriott's Street Food	Presenter
	Strictly Come Dancing	Contestant; 12th place

Bibliography

• 1999 Ainsley Harriott's Meals In Minutes (ISBN 0-563-55166-6)
• 2000 Ainsley Harriott's Barbecue Bible (ISBN 0-563-55181-X)
• 2002 Ainsley Harriott's Low-fat Meals In Minutes (ISBN 0-563-53480-X)
• 2002 Ainsley Harriott's Gourmet Express (ISBN 0-563-48826-3)
• 2003 Ainsley Harriott's All New Meals In Minutes (ISBN 0-563-48750-X)
• 2003 Ainsley Harriott's Gourmet Express 2 (ISBN 0-563-48860-3)
• 2003 The Top 100 Recipes from Ready Steady Cook (ISBN 0-563-48729-1)
• 2004 Ainsley Harriott's Friends and Family Cookbook (ISBN 0-563-48756-9)
• 2005 Ainsley's Ultimate Barbecue Bible (ISBN 0-563-52217-8)
• 2006 Ainsley Harriott's All New Meals In Minutes (ISBN 0-563-49321-6)
• 2006 Ainsley Harriott's Feel Good Cookbook (ISBN 0-563-49352-6)
• 2008 Ainsley Harriott's Fresh and Fabulous Meals in Minutes (ISBN 1-84607-444-4)
• 2011 My Kitchen Table – Ainsley Harriott: 100 Meals in Minutes (ISBN 1849901503)

External links

• Official website
• Ainsley Harriott at the Internet Movie Database