Celebrity MasterChef will finally return to screens on Tuesday night, with a new batch of stars hoping to make it big in the kitchen.
A host of famous faces will battle it out to impress judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace with their culinary skills.
The first five celebrities to don aprons this week are This Morning’s Craig Doyle, Geordie Shore’s Charlotte Crosby, radio presenter Edith Bowman, Steps pop star Ian ‘H’ Watkins and TV and radio presenter Snoochie Shy.
Before the first episode aired, Ian, 48, admitted he had never cooked for his family or friends before, while Edith, 50, spoke about the “scary” lead-up to the show.
When asked how things usually went with his friends and family when cooking, Ian said, “Eh, they weren’t doing too bad!”
Celebrity MasterChef is finally returning to screens on Tuesday night and one of the stars of Steps, Ian ‘H’ Watkins, who admitted he had never cooked for anyone else before.
Meanwhile, radio star Edith Bowman has spoken out about preparing for the show and while she has a little more experience in the kitchen, she was still “terrified”.
‘My regular menu consists of takeaway or ‘pickup’ style tapas from a pack… or you can bring your own!’
On why she wanted to take part in the show, she added: “I wanted a challenge to really dig into. My friends and family know I didn’t know how to cook until now!”
‘When it comes to cooking, I’d say I’m an expert with the air fryer and microwave, so I wanted to take part in Celebrity MasterChef to develop a skill that I could involve my children and family in in the future.’
Meanwhile, Edith spoke about preparations for the show and while she has a bit more experience in the kitchen, she was still “terrified.”
She said: “It was terrifying. The anticipation and waiting before it happened made me feel like I was in a time warp.”
‘I was really excited at the prospect of going into the kitchen for the first time and when we walked in, it was just like you see on TV, with the MasterChef logo and John and Gregg standing there!
‘The excitement too, it’s that mix of nerves and excitement, it was very strange!’
When asked what she enjoyed cooking the most, she added: “It depends on who I’m cooking for. I love cooking linguine with crab and fish is something I really enjoy cooking. However, a roast is probably my favourite dish.”
Geordie Shore’s Charlotte Crosby, 34, added it was “surreal” to walk into the kitchen for the first time as she spoke about the run-up to the show.
This Morning’s Craig Doyle, 53, spoke about why he wanted to take part in the show, saying: “I’ve watched MasterChef for 20 years and I love the show.”
Snoochie Shy added her reasons: “I mean it’s an absolutely iconic show and I’ve always watched it!”
“It’s very healthy and comforting. It’s so nice to customise all the accompaniments and figure out what goes best with different roasts, how many vegetables to put in, the gravy, the Yorkshire puddings and all that.”
Charlotte, 34, added that it was “surreal” to walk into the kitchen for the first time as she spoke about preparations for the show.
She said: ‘Walking into the MasterChef kitchen for the first time was surreal. Seeing the build-up and the reality, and being there after watching it for years on TV, was a very exciting moment.
“I didn’t feel like I was actually there. I felt like I was a tourist visiting to take pictures!”
Craig, 53, also spoke about why he wanted to take part in the show, saying: ‘I’ve watched MasterChef for 20 years and I love the show, but the thought of taking part has absolutely terrified me, because I love cooking.
“I’ve always cooked because it’s kind of an escape for me, so getting into the world of cooking and then getting out of it is a little scary. I wanted to get in and make sure I was doing it right!”
Snoochie added her reasons: ‘I mean it’s an absolutely iconic show and I’ve always watched it!
‘I came in to try and learn new tips and tricks in the hopes that I could be more of a chef in the kitchen without feeling like I was poisoning my friends.’
Fans will see a dazzling line-up of stars from the worlds of film and theatre, sport and the arts, all competing in the race to lift the 2024 trophy.
Among the rest of the star-studded cast battling to become the series 19 champion are model and TV personality Christine McGuinness and Eastenders actress Danielle Harold.
Each celebrity will roll up their sleeves as they enter the kitchen, but only one will emerge victorious from this battle and earn the title of MasterChef 2024 Champion, following in the footsteps of last year’s winner Wynne Evans.
Other celebrities competing include reality TV star Chloe Burrows and The Traitors star Diane Carson.
Model and TV personality Emma Thynn, comedian and actor Eshaan Akbar and Team GB sprinter and gladiator Harry Aikines-Aryeetey will also appear on the show.
They will be joined by personalities including Jake Quickenden, comedian Jamie MacDonald, pop star Mutya Buena and BBC Radio 2 presenter OJ Borg.
Completing the cast are actress Rochenda Sandall, actor Tamer Hassan and Strictly pro actor Vito Coppola.
The show will kick off with four three-episode Heat Weeks designed to test celebrities’ cooking skills.
The challenges then lead the best towards the highlight end of the competition as only the most talented cooks continue to the final stages.
In the first episode of Heat, five new celebrities each week face their first challenging task: the infamous “Under The Cloche” challenge: creating a dish from scratch that shows what they can do.
They will then have to prepare a two-course menu for a dinner party. The selected chefs will have the opportunity to enter the world of a professional restaurant and design their own dish for a food truck.
A host of famous faces will be vying to impress judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace with their culinary skills.
Danielle Harold and Christine McGuinness (left to right) are among the other stars taking part in this year’s series.
Reality TV star Chloe Burrows will also be battling it out in the kitchen.
The show will kick off with four weeks of three-episode heat aimed at testing the celebrities’ cooking skills (LR Emma Thynn and Jamie MacDonald)
The show will feature the new round of pizza, as well as a task that will require them to stay on track while helping to create an opulent dining experience on the British Pullman Train (LR Vito Coppola and Jake Quickenden)
Then, in the quarterfinals, they will face some very significant criticism from the returning champions and finalists.
After the knockout stages, the eight successful celebrities will face what the semi-final and final week has in store for them.
This will include the new round of pizza, as well as a task that will require them to stay on track while helping to create an opulent dining experience on the British Pullman train.
Finally, the successful celebrities will face a long-awaited chef’s table and an incredibly complicated task: cooking something they don’t like to eat.