C4 pledges "new ideas" for 9pm slot

Channel 4 pledged to try out "new ideas" in the key 9pm slot as it unveiled its winter schedule yesterday.

The broadcaster announced plans for three campaigning factual seasons, beginning in January with a fortnight of food programming asking the British public "to think before they eat". Programmes include Hugh's Chicken Run, where Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall challenges supermarkets to rethink their methods; Jamie Oliver in Jamie's Fowl Dinners, which reveals "the ruthless machinations of the food industry"; and Cook-a-Long-a-Gordon Live, a live format that sees Gordon Ramsay attempting to "unite the nation in a country-wide cooking experience".

As previously announced, Celebrity Big Brother has been axed from Channel 4 in 2008 but in its place, Dermot O'Leary will preside over a new spin on the format, Celebrity Hijack, on E4.

Stephen Hawking will present a two-part series, Stephen Hawking: Master of the Universe, examining how our understanding of the universe has changed since the publication of his A Brief History of Time book in 1988.

A follow-up to 2005's The Big Art Project will chart the project's successes and failures, while the week-long Iraq Season will mark the fifth anniversary of the war.

Dramas include the return of Shameless for an extended run of 16 episodes; City of Vice, set in the seedy world of 18th century Covent Garden; and stage adaptation Fallout, tackling the issue of gun and knife crime among teenagers.

Alan Carr will get his first solo series for C4 in Alan Carr's Celebrity Ding Dong, pitting celebrities against the public. Autumn comedy pilots Plus One and The Kevin Bishop Show earn full series orders.

Despite cutting back on acquisitions spend, C4 will premiere several new US series early in 2008. These include Reaper, about a young man who becomes the Devil's reluctant bounty hunter, as well as comedies Big Bang Theoryand Back To You, starring Kelsey Grammer. Desperate Housewives, ER and My Name Is Earl return for new seasons and on E4, homegrown hit Skins begins its second outing in February.