I LOVE Ready Steady Cook, but no longer get BBC. Food Network had a variation on it -- Ready Set Cook, which was ok until people kept bringing in impossible ingredients, like octopus, rhubarb and molasses cookies.
Emeril is not at all a bad chef, but his showmanship does get in the way -- in a major way, IMO.
I think you refer to The Two Hot Tamales -- Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Fenigar who were fantastic cooks with a great show.
And Cat Cora and the Indian lady were on Melting Pot, which was, IMO, one of their best shows.
Sara Moulton is also a terrifically accomplished chef who was a great teacher.
FTV, IMO, has taken a turn for the worse by pulling some of the best shows (see all of the above but emeril) about food and cooking and replacing them with pith. It is telling when they tout Saturdays as "FOOD NETWORK IN THE KITCHEN" as though they are reserving a special day to broadcast shows about actual cooking. SOme of the shows demonstrate a disrespect for food and cooking that has turned me off completely. I hardly watch it anymore.