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The Cradocks
If looks could kill: Dan Farson gets on the wrong side of fearsome TV cook Fanny Cradock - and her seafood platter - in this classic 1959 interview.
Overview
Razor-sharp broadcaster Daniel Farson gets more than he bargained for in this 1959 encounter with Fanny Cradock - flamboyant forerunner of today's celebrity TV chefs. Invited into the home of Fanny and amiable partner Johnny for ITV's Success Story, Farson seems utterly bemused by the pomp (cooking in a ball gown; edible gold butter) and by an infamously fresher-than-expected seafood platter.
Despite being lampooned throughout their career, the Cradocks' books, cookery tours and TV shows found huge success in the 1950s and 60s. Fanny's TV career came to an abrupt halt in 1976, when she humiliated a Devon housewife who had won a BBC cookery competition. She made occasional appearances on the chat show circuit before her death in 1994, and was portrayed by Julia Davis in BBC Four's 2006 drama Fear of Fanny.
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