‘Common Sense Slimming’ - How the contribution of Joan Robins, television’s ‘afternoon cook’, was not the perfect-fit for the culture of the BBC in the 1950s

Cooking on television after WWII mainly addressed ‘the housewife’ audience, while women themselves were presenting cooking programmes. History has largely forgotten the presenter Joan Robins, who appeared alongside Philip Harben and Marguerite Patten BBC broadcasts of late 1940s 1950s. Robins specialised in ‘common-sense’ cookery, nutrition, health, including a controversial slimming programme that featured advice was later disputed by British Medical Association. Robins’ ideas innovations not always welcomed BBC, preferred more straightforward cookery demonstrations, resulting her turning back broadcasting to concentrate other careers.