The familiar kitchen drama of Celebrity MasterChef has returned to BBC One, but this series arrives with a distinctly different flavour following significant changes to its presenting team.
A New Partnership in the Kitchen
Viewers witnessed a fresh dynamic as John Torode was joined by Grace Dent, making her debut as a judge after replacing Gregg Wallace. This new series was filmed before Torode's highly publicised sacking in July for using racially insensitive language, explaining his continued presence on screens. Dent and Torode have quickly established themselves as a cohesive team, with their focus firmly on the contestants' culinary efforts rather than personal spotlight.
Dent introduced her signature style of gentle critique early on. When presented with a plate of 'deconstructed humus', she dryly observed, 'This is a strange looking plate of food. It's all a bit Day Three at Glastonbury.'
The Celebrity Contestants Face Their First Challenge
The line-up featured the usual eclectic mix of personalities, including Paralympic basketball player Gaz Choudhry, Coronation Street actress Katie McGlynn, Blue band member Antony Costa, influencer Uma Jammeh, and drag artist Ginger Johnson.
Ginger Johnson made a particularly memorable entrance, arriving dressed as a Battenberg cake in a striking yellow and pink frock. Her lavishly styled bright orange hair created the impression her head was on fire, while her dramatic eyelashes were humorously mistaken for 'ninja tarantulas'.
Culinary Tests and Early Standouts
The first challenge required contestants to lift a lid revealing a mystery ingredient, then create a dish featuring it. Gaz Choudhry unveiled chickpeas with great ceremony. In the blindfolded taste test, Gaz described the pressure as 'feeling like I'm at Wembley, lining up a penalty' – and he ultimately scored the winning goal by correctly identifying ginger in a sudden-death playoff against Antony Costa, who mistook ham for beef.
This victory earned Gaz an extra ten minutes for the subsequent street food challenge. Early indications suggest Ginger Johnson, who previously played rugby for Newcastle Falcons, is the contestant to watch. As Grace Dent noted, 'Ginger is the one to watch' – though it would be difficult to miss someone dressed as a Battenberg cake who looks equally capable of handling a kitchen scrum as a rugby one.
No one was eliminated in this first episode, but Gaz and Antony have been identified as the obvious weak links who must significantly improve their performance in the next installment.
