Once again MasterChef judges, John Torode and Gregg Wallace preside over the cooking contenders to whittle down the 20 celebrity contestants across six weeks, in the Shine TV (part of EndemolShine UK) produced series.
The full line-up is:
- Actors Adam Woodyatt and Elizabeth Bourgine
- Actor and radio presenter Mim Shaikh
- TV personalities Vicky Pattison, Dom Parker, Dr Alex George and Joey Essex
- Legend of Motown Martha Reeves
- Olympic gold medallist Greg Rutherford, MBE
- Heavyweight boxer Dillian Whyte
- Former boxing manager and transgender campaigner Kellie Maloney
- Icon of design Dame Zandra Rhodes
- Professional dancer Oti Mabuse
- Long distance runner and former Marine Andy Grant
- Weatherman Tomasz Schafernaker
- Football hardman Neil ‘Razor’ Ruddock
- Superstar DJ and lawyer Judge Jules
- Radio 1 presenter Rickie Haywood-Williams
- Presenter and professional quizzer Jenny Ryan
- Comedian Josie Long
BBC Commissioning Editor, Carla-Maria Lawson, says: “This Celebrity MasterChef has all of the right ingredients for a series full of entertainment, pressure and fun. Once again we have a brilliant variety of different characters and there will be some surprises along the way as they are put through their paces and pushed to their limits.”
Over six weeks and 18 programmes the celebrities battle to take the trophy and become Celebrity MasterChef Champion 2019. The first four weeks whittle the celebrities down to those entering the semi-finals.
The first 60-minute episode of each heat week sees five new celebrities enter the kitchen and take on an invention test. With limited ingredients, they are challenged to create a firm favourite from scratch including a pizza, burgers, a curry and sausages. Then thrown in at the deep end as they head to a professional restaurant kitchen to prepare dishes for the paying public. Will they sink or swim under the watchful guidance of acclaimed chefs, we discover who can cut the mustard before they head back to the MasterChef kitchen to prepare a dish of their design for John and Gregg. At the end of this one contestant is sent home.
The four remaining celebrities return the following night for an exciting 60-minute episode featuring two huge challenges that test their ability to work under pressure together. The first is the Pairs Challenge where the celebrities are split into teams of two. Each team is tasked with cooking the same dish-however there’s a catch as there is a wall that divides the team members through which they must clearly communicate instructions in order to cook identical dishes in taste and appearance. The next test is the terrifying Mass Catering Challenge. Celebrities face the hungry hordes of diners at a range of pressurised, busy and time-sensitive venues - from the iconic ZSL London Zoo, the historic Ford Factory in Dagenham, the Hendon Metropolitan Police Training Centre and back to school at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Girls School. The celebrities work through each other’s strengths and weaknesses and form bonds across these two tough challenges.
The winner will follow in the footsteps of previous winners, John Partridge, Angellica Bell, Alexis Conran, Kimberly Wyatt, Sophie Thompson, Ade Edmondson, Emma Kennedy, Phil Vickery, Lisa Faulkner, Jayne Middlemiss, Liz McClarnon, Nadia Sawalha and Matt Dawson.
Celebrity MasterChef 2019 will start on Monday September 2 on BBC One.
Long is currently performing at the Edinburgh Fringe in her new show, Tender, about becoming a mother and climate change. Details here.
