Pictured: Jamie Oliver on The Naked Chef during its second series in 2000
Born to pub owners Trevor and Sally Oliver in Clavering, Essex, Jamie Oliver practised cooking in the kitchen with his parents and sister.
A severe dyslexic, he left school at 16 with two GCSEs.
He went on to attend Westminster Technical College, earning a qualification in home economics, before getting a job as a pastry chef at the London restaurant of Italian cook Antonio Carluccio.
He first hit TV screens aged 23 on The Naked Chef, establishing his reputation as a cheeky, laid-back cook from Essex.
The BBC series was praised at the time for inspiring men to cook. It first aired on April 14th in 1999 and ran for three series and including Christmas specials.
Jamie met his wife, Juliette — known as Jools — at college in 1993 when the pair were just 18.
They married in Essex in June 2000, with a low-key reception in Jamie’s parents’ garden, to which the chef wore a pale blue Paul Smith suit and snakeskin brogues.
Jools worked as a waitress before becoming a TV assistant, model and, briefly, her husband’s PA.
The couple have five children - Poppy Honey Rosie, 17; Daisy Boo Pamela, 15; Petal Blossom Rainbow, 10; Buddy Bear Maurice, eight; and River Rocket Blue Dallas, two.
He went on to present more than 25 cooking series, spearheading a campaign for improved nutrition in school meals.
Oliver (pictured in 2002), first hit TV screens aged 23 on The Naked Chef, establishing his reputation as a cheeky, laid-back cook from Essex
Jamie famously waged war on Turkey Twizzlers in 2005, when he visited Westminster to speak with politicians about his healthy school dinners campaign.
The chef also released a host of accessible cookery books, including 'Jamie's 15 Minute Meals' and 'Everyday Super Food'.
He opened his first Jamie's Italian in Oxford in 2008, growing it to more than 60 restaurants worldwide.
In 2017 the
