Jamie Oliver wins over Americans with TV show

The tears of frustration Jamie Oliver wept for America's fattest townspeople look set to turn to tears of joy now that his crusade to change America's eating habits has proved to be a ratings success.
 
In one short month Oliver has gone from national hate figure to America’s anti-obesity poster boy and a household name after his US show Food Revolution became one of America’s most popular shows. 
 
Last Friday's episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution was the joint most-watched programme in the United States that night as well as being the number one show in its 9pm timeslot.
 
ABC's Food Revolution, Oliver's first show on a major US network, got off to a bad start when it launched on March 26 to mixed reviews and a hostile response from defensive Americans who disliked being told what to eat.
 
Viewers baulked at the series' first episode which showed Oliver trying to improve the diet of the inhabitants of Huntington, West Virginia - known as the unhealthiest city in America. In one scene, the 34-year-old chef broke down in tears after he was criticised by the local paper.

Oliver was also castigated by TV chat show host David Letterman who pointedly told him that his campaign to get Americans eating healthily simply could not succeed.
 
Yet with as many as eight million viewers now tuning in to watch him each week, Oliver seems set to become a huge star Stateside. As the Los Angeles Times - one of the few papers to get behind the British chef right from the start - noted in an early review: "Oliver may in fact wind up being reality TV's most engaging star."
 
Oliver has also convinced a number of celebrities to get behind his 'petition for change', which may have helped boost his popularity. They include P Diddy, Heidi Klum, Kim Kardashian, Ryan Seacrest and the phenomenally popular teen singer Justin Bieber. ·