Fanny Cradock (introduced here as Phylis Cradock) – a lady of somewhat overpowering personality – and her amiable kitchen partner, companion and, eventually, husband Johnnie, had been restaurant critics for the Daily Telegraph before they were hired first by the BBC (for Kitchen Magic) and later by the newly-created ITV, in this – the station’s very first cookery series.
Fanny, garbed in gems and evening gowns, always came across as a domineering woman who ruled her kitchen with a rolling pin of iron. The monocled Johnnie (who always sported a tuxedo) was somewhat jollier.
The pair were frequently hilariously sent up by Benny Hill and Bob Todd, the latter portraying Johnnie as one who had over-indulged with the cooking sherry.
Fanny Cradock died on 27 December 1994 in East Sussex. She was 85.
