Oliver urges viewers to eat organic chicken

Jamie Oliver wants to convert the British public to organic chicken in his new show.

The celebrity chef will draw attention to the living conditions of cheap, intensively-reared chickens in Jamie's Fowl Dinners.

The programme, which airs as part of Channel 4's special food season, will see Oliver use a gala dinner attended by celebrities and the public to highlight the way in which some chickens are raised.

Hello! quotes him as saying: "My ambition is to change the 95% of Britain eating standard chicken, to get them to step up to a better-welfare bird."

Channel 4 head of factual entertainment Andrew Mackenzie said: "Jamie's simple message in an overt way is if you knew the process, how your eggs are produced and what you eat, you would probably buy free-range, organic chickens."

The food fortnight, which encourages viewers "to think before they eat", also includes programmes from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Gordon Ramsay.

The season forms part of Channel 4's pledge to try out "new ideas" in the key 9pm slot in its winter schedule.

Jamie's Fowl Dinners airs at 9pm Channel 4 on January 11.