BBC cooks up new series to celebrate 40 years of Delia

Delia Smith is to celebrate her 40-year career with a new cookery show, the BBC said today.

The 67-year-old celebrity chef, who started out as a food writer for the Daily Mirror in 1969, will recreate her most popular recipes - but using modern ingredients and a modern budget - in a series for BBC2.

The half-hour shows have been given the working title of 40 Years of Delia. A BBC spokesman confirmed the show is in the pipeline, adding: "Delia is close to signing up." It is not yet known when it will be broadcast.

The series will also include comment from celebrity fans such as fellow Norwich City FC supporter Stephen Fry and look at how Smith's recipes have influenced the way we cook.

Delia has set culinary trends with her recipes and created runs on her recommended ingredients such as cranberries and frozen mashed potato.

The BBC said: "Delia's single-handedly changed the nation's eating habits from roast duck with cherry sauce in the Sixties to freezer favourites in the Noughties."

BBC2 controller Janice Hadlow told Broadcast magazine the show would "combine cookery with social history".