Ready Meals: What They Really Mean for You, review: flavourless look at the British food industry
Gregg Wallace may have consciously uncoupled with the British Broadcasting Corporation, but his spirit is alive and well within the corridors of W1A. Ready Meals: What They Really Mean for You (BBC One) was ostensibly a cheap and cheerful magazine show about the British food industry's attempts to reach net zero by 2050. If that particular ready meal sounds a bit dry, the BBC agreed. Pouring on the Inside the Factory gravy was its Climate Editor Justin Rowlatt, who eagerly stepped into Wallace's hairnet.
'Wow!' he said at some fairly large, stainless steel machines. 'It is massive!' he hollered at a Tesco distribution centre in Avonmouth. 'Magical!' he trilled at a production line. 'Liam is going to unleash some of his state-of-the-art food processing machines,' he drooled at a man called Liam, who was pressing a button. 'It looks like a huge insect, doesn't it?' he quipped at a combine harvester. If Wallace was watching at home, he could only have marvelled at the craft.
Dull as it undoubtedly was, the programme had a serious point to make, but seemed ambivalent about what exactly it was. Rowlatt did a good job of holding obfuscating industry spokespeople to account – Are the supermarkets all talk? Do farmers just need to accept we must eat less meat? – but this sort of tech-business documentary always falls into the same trap.
In highlighting some of the innovations – synthetic meat made from a few pig cells or a palm oil alternative that could save countless hectares of rainforest – the show left you with an artificial sense that everyone was okay. How innovative we humans are! No need to change course too much – the boffins are onto it.
It all felt a little like an Open University video that would have its students' eyelids sagging. 'I am a woman who loves a robot,' said scientist Fran Scott, which briefly threatened a far more exciting programme. Alas, she was talking about a robotic arm that could make soup. Tesco and Multivac got some good free publicity out of it, but this was a ready meal short of some seasoning.
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Scotsman
an hour ago
- Scotsman
Family entertainment: Circus Vegas New production is now on tour in Scotland – get a seat in the big top
Circus Vegas Roll up for Circus Vegas – daring new show is set to tour across Scotland and you won't want to miss it. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... From the producers of some of the world's finest circuses comes a brand-new show specially created for a brilliant Scottish tour in 2025. This one-of-a-kind performance features the most talented daredevil performers and EXTREME® acts from across the world, showcasing this Las Vegas Production. Circus Vegas presents this brand new show— an amalgamation of thrilling circus acts from all four corners of the globe, world-class music, and youthful energy, featuring fantastic EXTREME® performers and high-level talent that has to be seen to be believed. In an age where so much entertainment is digital, pre-recorded, or enhanced by special effects, the raw, real-time spectacle of Circus Vegas offers a breath of fresh air. Every breathtaking feat performed live under the Big Top will have audiences questioning their own eyes. Circus Vegas Show highlights - The jaw-dropping Globe of Death, as motorbike riders loop vertically and horizontally within a giant mesh sphere. - From Cuba, Mayrelis presents her world-renowned Hair Hanging act, floating high above the ring suspended only by her hair - Making a special UK appearance on the Aerial Chandelier, the acclaimed British performer Amber joins the cast for the very first time — performing a breath-taking aerial routine at times suspended entirely by her teeth - The incredible Wheel of Death, hula hoop artistry, juggling, and our troupe of dancers — all bringing never-before-seen twists to the UK stage - From Tanzania, the awe-inspiring Bellagio Warriors bring a burst of African energy to the ring with their high-octane acrobatic displays – a thrilling fusion of strength, rhythm, and spectacle guaranteed to have audiences on their feet - Legendary circus character Papeluxo brings comedy and charm throughout the show - And standing at just four feet tall, the world's smallest stuntman, George the Dragon (Jorge Cabrera Matachana), amazes with daring tricks and fearless showmanship Scotland tour – places and dates at a glance - Glasgow, Silverburn Shopping Centre, Green Car Park, G53 6AG, Fri June 6th to Sun June 22nd 2025 - Dundee, Riverside Park, DD2 1UG, Wed June 25th to Wed July 2nd 2025 - Inverness, Caledonian Thistle FC, IV1 1FF Fri July 4th to Wed July 9th 2025 - Stirling, Kings Park, FK8 2RF, Fri July 11th to Tue July 15th 2025 - Livingston, Howden Park, EH54 6AE Fri July 18th to Tue July 22nd 2025 - Aberdeen, Beach Links (Opp. Burger King), AB24 5EN Fri July 25th to Tue Aug 12th 2025 This truly is a show with something for everyone — whether you're a petrolhead, thrill-seeker, theatre-goer, or simply looking to experience one of the most exciting live events of the year. The show runs for approximately two hours and takes place in a climate-controlled, theatre-style Big Top with comfortable seating. Tickets available now on the website, just click here This circus is the finest show to come to town under the Circus Vegas banner, and this famous name has always been your guarantee of a great show, a rare treat, great fun, and something for all ages. Circus Vegas will be in the Scotland for a limited run — so make certain this sure-fire hit is a definite for your diary. It's like Vegas on wheels! Book your seat for a dazzling night with some special showbiz glitz!
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Jamie Oliver upset as he slams 'harmful' school system and demands change
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is launching his own crusade in a new documentary as he fights for schools to be more inclusive and better trained to deal with neurodivergent children. Jamie Oliver has a bone to pick with the British education system - and he's not mincing words. In his latest documentary, Jamie's Dyslexia Revolution, the celebrity chef, author and outspoken advocate is taking his lifelong fight with dyslexia public in a bold new way. With raw honesty and righteous anger, Jamie Oliver lifts the lid on how deeply the system is failing neurodivergent children - and confronts Secretary of State for Education Bridget Phillipson in a fierce campaign. 'Our young people deserve better,' he says in his compelling feature, 'We want truly inclusive schools where every child can thrive. That change is a long time overdue.' For Jamie, the fight is personal. Though now a bestselling author of over 20 cookbooks and a household name, his own school experience was shaped by struggles, shame and silence. As a child, Jamie was placed in special needs classes for five years. 'I really struggled to read in primary school,' he says, 'I read my first [book] when I was about 33.' Leaving education behind was a relief. 'When I left school, it was, 'good riddance to you,'' he admits. 'The memories of no books, spelling errors, crosses repeated. I expected very little of myself because success in school is built on things a dyslexic brain isn't good at.' Now 50, Jamie still grapples with challenges most take for granted. 'My inner voice isn't as confident when I'm reading,' he says. 'My eyes aren't really tracking well. I'm used to it. Some days are better than others. I'm better when I'm less tired.' Despite the hurdles, Jamie has built a wildly successful career and a happy personal haven. Married to former model and writer Juliette Norton, he's a proud father of five. But fatherhood brought some uncomfortable reckonings. 'I knew things were bad when my own children were reading better than me,' he says. He also realised he wasn't alone in feeling out of place in school. 'School was tough because I didn't get it, now seeing kids and families go through that same pain in 2025 makes me angry. I didn't realise how big this was and how upsetting it is.' That anger became fuel for Jamie's Dyslexia Revolution, a hard-hitting, eye-opening journey through the lived experiences of neurodivergent people across the UK. He's not alone in the crusade. Celebrity friends join him to share their own painful experiences. Holly Willoughby recalls how her self-worth was chipped away by red-inked spelling tests. 'I was terrible at spelling,' Holly says, 'I knew that because I'd always get really poor results at spelling tests. When I'd get my homework back, there'd be red pen all over it where there would be 'silly' mistakes.'' Reality star and entrepreneur Jamie Laing echoes the frustration and daily challenges dyslexic individuals face. 'I don't understand how people can write down a word they've heard,' he says, 'I don't understand how the words go, to the point where some of them look upside down and backwards.' At school, his struggles often led to punishment rather than support. 'I would get in trouble a lot,' he says, 'I would be in detention because I was frustrated.' Dyslexia, as defined by the NHS, is a common learning difficulty that primarily affects reading, writing and spelling. But its impact is far more widespread - touching memory, processing, self-esteem and even long-term outcomes in life. It's estimated that up to one in every ten people in the UK has dyslexia, though many go undiagnosed for years, if at all. 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The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
A Scottish legend says cancel culture is over. Yeah right
He is not alone in his view. The comedian Ricky Gervais was getting his star on the walk of fame the other day and said something similar to Mr Millar. 'We've had a few weird years of cancel culture, people telling you what you can and can't laugh at or talk about,' he said. 'But we pushed back, and we won. I'd love to claim that it was due to my unrivalled genius, but truth be told, it's a cocktail of luck, persistence and a little bit of pushing against the tide.' So that's two big figures in popular culture telling us it's all over. But let's take a minute shall we. For a start, it's significant who's talking here. As I say, Mr Millar sold his empire to Netflix for £25m and Mr Gervais is also someone who's not short of a bob or two. Same thing with another public figure who's spoken out against cancel culture: JK Rowling. The mob did bay for her, and some people did stop speaking to her, and there were calls for her to be ejected from Harry Potter, her own creation. But in the end, like Gervais and Millar, money is a shield and Rowling was too rich to cancel. It's a good thing that Gervais and Millar have spoken out against cancel culture, but their relative immunity to its effects perhaps makes them a little too prone to declaring that it's over before it actually is. Because it isn't, not really. You may have seen the story about the comic Andrew Lawrence who's had shows cancelled after making a joke about the horrible incident at the Liverpool football parade. This is a sensitive area, and the joke was crass and in my view not funny. But I've been in many audiences where the comic has touched on sensitive areas and made jokes that are crass and in my view not funny, and people laughed. And if we cancel comedians for doing jokes some of us don't like, we risk ending up in a place that is, to use Mark Millar's words, safe and benign. Yes, it's awkward to defend someone like Andrew Lawrence but that's how freedom of expression works: it's awkward but important. There are other problems with the idea that cancel culture is over. One of the most high-profile casualties of it all was the comedy writer Graham Linehan, whose career was effectively ended because of his opinions on trans issues. I spoke to Graham about what happened and the effects were absolutely real: jobs fell away, virtually no-one in the media would return his calls, and his plans for a musical version of Father Ted ended when the producers asked him to stop talking about the trans issue and he refused. What's remarkable now is that we can see his opinions were not unusual and are shared by the majority of the population and yet they ended his career and there's still no prospect of Graham working again in British comedy. So if cancel culture is over, it isn't over for Graham. Read more Britain is Scottish: a truth from history that's still true today A Pride hate crime on Arran? No, just a sign of where we are now The best building in Glasgow, and what we can learn from its tragedy But even if we accept the premise that cases such as Graham's are becoming rarer, or will no longer happen, that doesn't mean cancel culture is finished because its effects do not always operate openly. I was speaking to a friend of mine last week who's working on a play that's about to tour the country and he was telling me about the pressures he's been under over script, casting and production, specifically on sex, gender and race. It's clear that anything that strays from the progressive viewpoint sometimes called 'woke' is out of the question and might jeopardise the future of his project and so he finds himself self-censoring to ensure he keeps his job. It's happening in theatre, and it's happening in movies and telly too. And the result? Safe and benign. Perhaps the phrase we should use to describe the phenomenon here is self-cancel culture although it amounts to the same thing as cancel culture because most people don't have as much money as Mr Millar or Mr Gervais or Ms Rowling and worry about losing their job, or the chances of promotion. You see it in academia too, where there have been plenty of examples of overt cancel culture, with speakers de-platformed or forced to withdraw because of protests and so forth. But equally insidious is the self-cancel culture that goes on, the self-censorship. One of the academics I've spoken to about this, Neil Thin, honorary research fellow at Edinburgh, told me how it works. What happens in practice, he said, is that because of overt, aggressive or denunciatory attacks on individuals, people at universities start to monitor and edit their own behaviour. They see what's happened to other people and think 'I don't want that, I'll avoid that topic'. And so freedom of speech is affected and damaged. As I say: self-cancel culture. Doctor Who (Image: PA) It's all of this kind of stuff, plus more recent and more overt cases such as Andrew Lawrence, that make me very wary of accepting Mark Millar's argument that cancel culture is over. What may help his case a bit is that the sort of people who've toed the line are starting to struggle. I'm thinking of the recent Snow White movie, which was heavy with cancel-proof progressive messages and bombed spectacularly at the box office. Same with the recent series of Doctor Who: on message certainly but also on course for the worst viewing figures in the programme's history. And it has now, probably, been rested. Or to use a better word: cancelled. The point is that the situation is probably a lot more uncertain than Mark Millar thinks it is. He may be right that the world is more relaxed again and we're about to see more dangerous stuff on screen and in print. But then again, someone who was working on a television drama being made in Glasgow was telling me last year about their Christmas party and how they'd been issued with a list of do's and don'ts including 'no swearing' and 'no sexual advances'. Relaxed is hardly the word I would use. But let's end by being hopeful shall we. The cultural moments that linger in my mind aren't the cosy ones, they're the crazy ones. The moments where I've been appalled or amused (or both at the same time). The best and most exciting television, movies and books are also much more likely to emerge from a culture of freedom than they are from a culture of fear. So let's hope Mark Millar is right. Let's hope cancel culture is over and writers have indeed regained their freedom to produce edgy material. Let's hope.
