The lowdown: David Beckham’s TV cookery show

Says who?​
A ‘source close to the footballer’, of course. Reports have said that the former footballer, who is a close friend of Gordon Ramsay, is in talks with America’s Food Network, planning to host a series of 10-15 minute slots on the channel.

Can he cook?​
He must have learned a few tips from hanging around with Ramsay, who lives near him in LA. He’s made a few appearances on The F Word, and a source says that he has good knowledge of nutrition from his footballing days.

So we can expect a lot of protein shakes, presumably?​
Perhaps, although Beckham has previously said that he does actually spend a fair amount of time in the kitchen as he finds it relaxing. He likes cooking saffron risotto, because “you have to constantly stir and add ingredients”.

So… cooking, then.​
Exactly. He did do a six-month course at a professional cookery school in Italy when he played for AC Milan, which probably explains his penchant for risotto. He also makes pasta from scratch for his kids, which is rather more impressive.

Are footballers generally good in the kitchen?​
They don’t have good previous, in all honesty. Former English goalkeeper David James took part in The Great Sport Relief Bake Off, making ‘bite size canapes’ the size of Cornish pasties and a cake in the shape of an American football helmet that ended up looking more like a dinosaur skull.

So it didn’t go well then?​
Paul Hollywood summed it up best when he said “David. It wasn’t your day.”

They probably aren’t the easiest of things to make, in all fairness…​
It’s certainly trickier than toaster Pop Tarts, which former England player Kevin Davies has been struggling with recently. The striker probably won’t be getting his own cooking show any time soon, having tweeted the other day “cannot believe I have burnt another pop tart” before asking how to use his toaster.

So, footballers and cooking: not a good combination. Who might be a bit better?​
Musicians seem to be quite adept in the kitchen. Rapper Action Bronson has been running his own cooking show on Munchies for a while, having worked as a chef before finding fame. R&B star Kelis can also hold her own, both at home and in restaurants, having trained at the Cordon Bleu in 2008 and run a pop up restaurant with Le Bun founder Andy Taylor.