Celebrity MasterChef is back for its 21st series, with food critic Grace Dent and Michelin-starred chef Giorgio Locatelli returning as judges. The BBC cooking competition will feature celebrities from sports and entertainment, with guest judges confirmed for the heats.
Celebrity MasterChef 2026 cast list
Week one contestants include actor and author Joe Pasquale, presenter Jason Mohammad, and Jay McGuinness from The Wanted. They compete against weightlifter and Olympic medallist Emily Campbell and TV star Shakira Khan.
Week two features Gladiator Emily Steel, also known as Dynamite, alongside actress Donna Preston, former Royal Ballet dancer Eric Underwood, EastEnders' Nitin Ganatra, and YouTuber Tom Simons, aka TommyInnit.
Week three includes Saturdays star Una Healy, Loose Women's Sue Cleaver, former I'm a Celebrity camper Melvin Odoom, comedian Max Fosh, and paralympic athlete Lauren Steadman.
Guest judges confirmed
Paddy McGuinness, Zoe Ball, and Morgan Burtwistle, also known as Angry Ginge, will serve as celebrity guest judges. Each will appear across one of the three heats, setting a bespoke culinary brief that determines who advances to the quarter final.
When does Celebrity MasterChef start?
Celebrity MasterChef returns to BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Tuesday, August 18 at 9pm. The competition runs for five weeks, with heats in the first three weeks, quarter finals following, semis in week four, and finals week concluding the series.
