Left to Right: Lisa Faulkner, Celebrity MasterChef winner 2010, Steve Groves, MasterChef The Professionals champion 2009 and Dhruv Baker, Masterchef winner 2010 at the MasterChef Pop Up restaurant at Meza, Soho.

Take two camps of wannabes, and a squad who should still be, and Tuesday night’s telly was all about what makes people tick  – or perhaps what doesn’t.

The BBC offered up Masterchef – The Professionals, with hopefuls who have already excelled at their chosen profession and are now hoping to hit the dizzy heights of fame thanks to the one of the many talent searches littering the small screen.

Watching them graft for their supper in the kitchen is stirring stuff. I may at times have been tempted to imagine how I would fare on Strictly or Dancing on Ice – just to enjoy the glitz – but sweating it out on Masterchef has never appealed. This may also have something to do with the fact that I can’t cook. But even for those who can it looks tough and hats off to them for giving it a go. They are an impressive bunch.

Indeed the various characters hoping for our attention on the other channels certainly could do with taking a tip or two from the potential stars cooking up a storm.

The England team couldn’t even whip up a draft in their clash against Montenegro on ITV1 last night. Honestly, if ever evidence was needed that primetime viewing should not be given over to football last night’s dismal display was it. Would we continue to pay actors the same big bucks if they persisted in putting in performances like this? I doubt it.

It’s time the lot of them had their salaries cut to a fraction of what they are now. Maybe if they had a goal to aim for, like the Masterchef professionals, then we would see some guts and glory again.

Then again, at least we have seen it on occasion. The memory may be fading but we do know that Steven Gerrard and co are capable of something special on the pitch even if at the moment it’s buried under glossy magazine deals, fast cars and fake tan. No, it’s not just the WAGs who spend too much time on their appearance.

Style or substance could also be the key question for Seven Days on Channel Four which may or may not produce the next batch of reality celebrities. The concept is intriguing enough. The show features the lives of Notting Hill residents and everything that has happened to them in the last seven days, with a live internet forum going on so people can say what they think. And let me tell you, they do.

It’s the ultimate gossip fest – probably. But, really, do we want to make stars out of the likes of airline pilot Cassie who last night called on her mum and, by virtue of the programme’s format, the viewers to say how soon she should resume marital relations with her husband Philip after having a baby. Then there was model Ben talking to his mother about her potential dates and how old they should be and whether or not he should be still living with his mum at 27. It gives the phrase group therapy a whole new meaning.

This has the potential to become compelling viewing as a good old-fashioned docusoap but maybe there is such a thing as too much information – even on television.