original_network chef!
Chef ! is a British situation comedy starring Lenny Henry that aired as twenty episodes over three series from 1993 to 1996 on the ___MASK13___ . The show was created and primarily written by Peter Tilbury based on an idea from Lenny Henry and produced for the ___MASK13___ by Henry ' s production company , Crucial Films . London is the capital and most populous ___MASK49___ of England and the United Kingdom , as well as the most populous ___MASK49___ proper in the European Union . Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain , London has been a major settlement for two millennia . It was founded by the Romans , who named it " Londinium ". London ' s ancient core , the ___MASK49___ of London , largely retains its medieval boundaries . Since at least the 19th century , " London " has also referred to the metropolis around this core , historically split between Middlesex , Essex , Surrey , Kent , and Hertfordshire , which today largely makes up Greater London , governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly . Sir Lenworth George Henry , CBE ( born 29 August 1958 ), known as Lenny Henry , is a British stand - up comedian , actor , blues singer , writer , and television presenter , known for co - founding charity Comic Relief , and presenting various television programmes , including the comedy " Chef !", " The Magicians " for ___MASK69___ . Broadcasting House is the headquarters of the ___MASK13___ , in Portland Place and Langham Place , London . The first radio broadcast was made on 15 March 1932 , and the building was officially opened two months later , on 15 May . The main building is in Art Deco style , with a facing of Portland stone over a steel frame . It is a Grade II * listed building and includes the ___MASK13___ Radio Theatre , where music and speech programmes are recorded in front of a studio audience , and lobby that was used as a location for filming the 1998 ___MASK79___ series " In the Red ". The British Broadcasting Corporation ( ___MASK13___ ) is a British public service broadcaster . It is headquartered at Broadcasting House in London , is the world ' s oldest national broadcasting organisation , and is the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees , with over 20 , 950 staff in total , of whom 16 , 672 are in public sector broadcasting ; including part - time , flexible as well as fixed contract staff , the total number is 35 , 402 . ___MASK69___ is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom , Isle of Man and Channel Islands . It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service , and was the world ' s first regular television service with a high level of image resolution . It was renamed BBC TV in 1960 , using this name until the launch of sister channel BBC2 in 1964 , whereupon the BBC TV channel became known as BBC1 , with the current spelling adopted in 1997 .