Five more famous faces enter the Celebrity MasterChef kitchen this week to flex their culinary prowess for judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace.
The first test will be Under The Cloche, requiring the contestants to employ their creativity and use a mystery ingredient to come up with an impressive dish in just an hour.
Next up is the Dinner Party challenge, which gives them an hour and 15 minutes to prepare their best main and dessert for someone coming over to eat.
Scroll on to meet this week’s celeb contestants!
Age: 29
Occupation: Drag superstar
Why do the show?: “I always want to challenge myself. I think in life, when you become complacent things don’t really go anywhere. You’ve always got to try new things, new environments, new settings, and cooking has never been a forté of mine, so I want the challenge.”
Favourite dish to cook: “I’ve made it before and I was really blown away – I really enjoyed making this gumbo, it was a New Orleans gumbo with prawns and cod, and it had Cajun seasoning. We did it with rice and it was gorgeous.”
Favourite dish to eat: “Either a lovely rich lasagne or a beef ragu. Or, it would be something really, really sweet, like a triple chocolate cake. I’m 50/50 sweet or savoury.”
Age: 42
Occupation: Singer/Actress
Why do the show?: “I wanted to do MasterChef because I want to learn, I also want to be an example to my daughters. I’ve got four daughters and I want to show them what it looks like when you’re courageous. When you feel the fear and do it anyway.”
Favourite dish to cook: “My favourite dish is my ackee pie. The thing that I love the most about it is that it goes so quickly, it’s usually a crowd pleaser.”
Favourite dish to eat: “I make these curry chicken dumplings. I’m of Jamaican heritage and curry chicken usually takes hours and hours to make, but with this version you make the curry chicken out of chicken thighs, and you put it inside the fried dumpling, which is a Jamaican delicacy and honestly, it’s heaven. And it would be amazing to get to showcase them on MasterChef!”
Age: 38
Occupation: Rapper
Why do the show?: “That’s a good question… I think it’s down to my family. I said ‘no’ repeatedly but they’re huge fans of the show. Cooking isn’t my thing so I’m jumping out of my comfort zone, which is something I love to do and that is the main reason why I signed up.”
Favourite dish to cook: “My favourite dish would be a good steak, but I can’t cook it, so it’s got to be tuna and pasta.”
Favourite dish to eat: “My desert island dish is a good pizza. I’m a pizza fiend. The messed-up thing about it though, is that I’m lactose intolerant and I always take the hit on a pizza. The best pizza is pepperoni and pineapple – the old Italians are rolling around in their grave right now.”
Age: 57
Occupation: Singer/Former Model
Why do the show?: “Number one, it’s my favourite cooking programme and I’ve watched it for many, many years. I really want to learn more culinary skills and become a better cook. I’ve only properly cooked for my partner and now I’ve got my own family I’m always thinking of trying out new things and teaching my son to cook. He’s at university so we’re always trying out different things. I want to learn more dishes, more flavours and what a way to learn! I’m in awe of these two guys – John and Gregg.”
Favourite dish to cook: “Lately I’ve been doing some Thai curries and Massaman curries. Every year I go to Thailand. I love the food and I’ve been trying out green curries and Pad Thai noodles. I do go through phases. I’ll probably get into the cooking the food from my next travels soon! I remember coming back from Morocco and cooking tagine because I just fell in love with it when I was there. If I come back from Italy I’m straight onto doing pasta!”
Favourite dish to eat: “A traditional British roast beef dinner with horseradish and all the trimmings.”
Age: 51
Occupation: DJ/Go Compare! Star
Why do the show?: “I wanted to do Celebrity MasterChef so I could learn some tips, improve my skills and try to get better at cooking for the kids. I want to be able to surprise people a bit more when they come round and say ‘oh look what I’ve done with this poussin!'”
Favourite dish to cook: “I love cooking anything Italian – lasagne, preparing a burrata, all that kind of stuff. But not here, I’ll avoid fresh pasta like the plague, that’s pressure.”
Favourite dish to eat: “What I have is a death row dish. So imagine today is the last day of your life, but you know that it is. Scallops to start, then steak, chips, peppercorn sauce and peas. For pudding: rhubarb crumble and custard. For my 50th I had a death row meal and everybody came and presented a case for the defence as to why I should be put to death, but before I was put to death I was able to enjoy my death row meal!”
