Emma Willis is back on ITV's Cooking With The Stars for its sixth series, following her debut as a Strictly Come Dancing host this year. The 50-year-old presenter will front the show alongside Tom Allen, with the new season starting on Monday, October 5 at 7.30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
Strictly and Cooking With The Stars
Willis made her Strictly debut this year alongside Johannes Radebe and Josh Widdicombe, after the departure of long-standing hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly. She also hosted Love Is Blind UK over the summer.
Discussing the upcoming season of Cooking With The Stars, Willis said: "I thought it was brilliant. The show is watched by a multi-generational audience so it's always nice when you have a line-up that everybody can relate to."
Celebrity line-up and culinary disasters
This year's series has been expanded to 10 episodes and features 12 celebrities, including Scarlett Moffatt, Dame Laura Kenny, Caroline Quentin, Karen Hauer, Seann Walsh, Zara McDermott, Harry Akines-Aryeetey, Mark Charnock, Joey Essex, Bez, JB Gill, and Lesley Joseph.
Willis noted there is no competitive streak among the celebrities: "Everyone wants to progress and do well but it's more for their chefs, to make them proud." She also teased culinary mishaps: "We definitely have a few burnt bottoms this season...pans, not humans."
Co-host Tom Allen added: "One potato dish got described as wall paper paste. But I'll name no names."
Willis's own cooking skills
Despite six years of fronting the series, Willis admitted her culinary skills remained "exactly the same." She explained: "Each year, I watch them in the kitchen and think, right, I'm going to expand my small repertoire and then I don't."
The programme sees celebrities compete to evolve from novices into accomplished chefs, with guidance from distinguished chefs and judging by a panel.
