Nigella Lawson will return to BBC2 this autumn with a brand new series in the first of a raft of new food programmes being developed for the channel.

The Domestic Goddess’s new show, Nigellissima, will see the glamorous chef serving up delicious dishes with a distinctively Italian influence and showing viewers at home how to make quick, easy and accessible Italian grub.

She will be joined in the schedules by the Hairy Bikers, who will be attempting to convince viewers that they can slim down and still enjoy good food in The Hairy Dieters: How To Love Food And Lose Weight.

Rick Stein is also returning to the channel with a new series about Indian cookery in which he promises to explain what the word ‘curry’ really means, and Ken Hom will make his TV comeback in a new series about Chinese cuisine called Eat, Drink, Cook China.

And The Great British Bake Off will be back for a third series, in which Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood will once again be on the hunt to find the UK’s best amateur baker.

Alison Kirkham, Commissioning Editor for Features and Formats, BBC One and Two, says: “We are excited to welcome back some of the nation’s best cooks from Nigella and Rick Stein to the Hairy Bikers and Ken Hom for a whole host of new series on the channel. From China to India and back again, the series are entertaining, intelligent and at times intensely personal portrayals of the countries they visit and the food they love.”