Chefs lead new Channel 4 schedule

The broadcaster unveiled the plans for the show along with the rest of its winter schedule.

The cooks will be seen taking on the nation's eating habits in the special fortnight-long series.

Other highlights of the schedule include a science series presented by Stephen Hawking and an Iraq season.

Jamie Oliver will make viewers face the realities of industrial chicken production in Jamie's Fowl Dinners, while Cook-a-Long-a-Gordon LIVE will feature Gordon Ramsay demonstrating how to cook a healthy meal.

'Simple message'

"Jamie's simple message will be 'If you know what happens to a chicken before arriving on your plate, would you change the way you think about chicken?'" said Andrew Mackenzie, head of Channel 4 factual entertainment.

"Jamie reveals how chickens go from the farm to the fork," he added.

Another show, Eat Yourself to Death, will see professor of anatomy Dr Gunther von Hagens conduct a human dissection to demonstrate the ultimate price of a poor diet.

Channel 4 said the new winter schedule aimed to create a greater variety in the channel's output at 2100 GMT.

Documentary strand Cutting Edge will get an extended run, with three times the number of programmes being made in 2008 compared to 2007.

There will also be a new comedy show for comedian Alan Carr and a five-part drama series about the vice-ridden world of 18th Century London, City of Vice.

Three new US comedies will also make their debut on the channel including Back To You, starring former Frasier star Kelsey Grammar as a disgraced broadcaster forced onto the regional airwaves.

While Celebrity Big Brother has been cancelled for 2008, spin-off series Big Brother Celebrity Hijack will debut on digital channel E4.

The show will see celebrities take on the role of Big Brother and "causing havoc" in a house filled with members of the public.

The new winter schedule will begin in January.

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