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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Stuart Heritage

‘Makes your skin sag and your bones creak’ – Come Dine With Me: Teens is the tedious spin-off no one needed

young contestants in Come Dine with Me Teens - from left, Alex, Zach, Minah, Lettie and Ben
A taste of innocence … from left, Alex, Zach, Minah, Lettie and Ben in Come Dine With Me: Teens. Photograph: Richard Grange/Channel 4

If there is one tried and true formula when it comes to television, it is this: when you run out of ideas, bring the kids in. This formula is why everything from MasterChef to The Great British Bake Off to Taskmaster has, at some point, bitten the bullet and introduced a junior version. And now it’s time for Come Dine With Me to join the gang.

Which is probably a bit late, all said. It took five years for MasterChef to bring in a junior version, and just one for Bake Off. Meanwhile, Come Dine With Me is 20. To call it long in the tooth would be a profound disservice to long teeth.

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