Television chef Lorraine Pascale is putting down her pans to co-host a new show searching for the best home cooks.

Rival couples from the UK and Ireland will compete in My Kitchen Rules which is based on a hit Australian show.

Lorraine, who will co-host and judge the show on Sky Living HD, presented her first cookery show on BBC Two in 2011 and will continue to work with the corporation.

She said: "I'd like to thank Sky for giving me the opportunity to work on the UK version of this massively successful show.

"It's an exciting new venture for me and I'm looking forward to stepping back from the oven for My Kitchen Rules and judging other peoples' efforts and taste their meals instead."

The couples will start cooking at home and move on to more complicated challenges and a studio cook-off if they impress the judges.

Alison Kirkham, BBC commissioning editor for factual features and formats, said: "Lorraine is very important talent for us and we currently have projects in the pipeline that we are working on with her."