The nationwide search for the country's next star chef sees restaurateur John Torode and food connoisseur Gregg Wallace putting the amateur cooks through their paces. The best of today's hopefuls will cook at Indian restaurant Cafe Spice Namaste, under the direction of head chef Cyrus Todiwala. But only one will make it through to Friday's quarter-final. [web address removed]
The Masterchef makeover: page 37

Food: Masterchef Goes Large 6.30pm BBC2
A talent show for would-be chefs. What a brilliant idea for an early-evening slot to replace The Simpsons! Presumably someone at BBC2 slapped themselves on the forehead when they realised they had this great format tucked away, sadly neglected for the past couple of years. But the old Masterchef was a serious affair. Adding "Goes Large" to the name is like putting GTi on the boot of a car - we know it's going to whiz along and be full of bright young things. It's on every weekday night now, too.
In each programme, eight hopefuls are ruthlessly whittled down to one winner by veg vendor Gregg Wallace and chef John Torode. Someone has told Torode he can be TV's new Mr Nasty and he's run with it. He dishes out tips here and there but really the show isn't about cooking; it's about characters, and they've found some great ones. (David Butcher)