Delia Smith is to return to our television screens in a new series of commercials for upmarket food store Waitrose.

Delia Smith is to return to our television screens in a new series of commercials for upmarket food store Waitrose.

The new TV commercials, which will air later this month, are the first for Waitrose to be personality-fronted with Delia being joined by Heston Blumenthal, owner of the three Michelin star The Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire.

'I've been 40 years working independently, and although I've been a behind-the-scenes consultant with another supermarket, this is the first time I've been linked with a supermarket on screen,' Delia said.

'All I've ever wanted to do is to try to get people to cook, to teach them how. It's in my blood. That desire hasn't diminished over the years so when Waitrose approached me and asked me to teach people a recipe I jumped at the chance,' said Norwich City's director and joint majority sharegholder.

'This is an opportunity to continue doing what I've always done, which is to help people get the right ingredients and the right equipment, and then cook a dish. They'll be my kind of recipes - good home cooking, easily accessible.'

Delia has built up a huge trust with the public over 40 years of being on-screen and having sold more than 21 million books, but she feels that modern programme-making has compromised her ideals.

'The issue with the BBC is that they now have a department called Editorial Compliance who wouldn't let me say the right brand of a particular piece of equipment on air. What happens if there are 12 of these on the market and only one of them does the job properly?

'People won't be able to do the recipe if they don't have, for instance, the right pan. It meant the job became much more difficult.'

'Yes, I can do that' is the reaction that Delia hopes to get from the Waitrose commercials. 'That's what I want viewers to leap up and say,' she added. 'For me, a person who comes home after a hard day's work wants to get a meal on the table that's healthy, nutritious, uncomplicated and doesn't take too much time. Time is too short to be doing complicated recipes, except perhaps at the weekend.'

Signing up with Waitrose could also bring some benefits to Norwich City Football Club. 'Yes, it will aid Norwich City in a very positive way - more on which we'll announce very soon,' she added.