Emma Willis will return to ITV next week as her next TV role has been confirmed. The presenter has been a familiar face on screens this year, fronting The Voice and the current series of Strictly Come Dancing on BBC One.
The 50-year-old is not slowing down, as ITV has confirmed she will be back hosting a sixth series of Cooking With The Stars alongside comedian Tom Allen. Emma shared she is "thrilled" to be back in the kitchen with a fresh group of celebrities.
New series details
In partnership with M&S Food, the cooking competition begins on Monday October 5 at 7.30pm on ITV1 and ITVX. Across ten episodes, twelve celebrities battle it out in the kitchen, preparing restaurant standard dishes as they attempt to transform from amateur cooks to gourmet chefs.
Each celebrity is partnered with an accomplished professional chef, tasked with mentoring and teaching them to produce tasty dishes which are then presented to a judging panel.
Celebrity line-up
The celebrities taking part in this series are TV personality Scarlett Moffatt, Olympian Dame Laura Kenny, actor Caroline Quentin, former professional Strictly dancer Karen Hauer, comedian Seann Walsh and presenter Zara McDermott.
Other stars include Gladiator Harry Akines-Aryeetey, Emmerdale actor Mark Charnock, reality star Joey Essex, Happy Mondays band member Bez, popstar and presenter JB Gill, and actor Lesley Joseph.
This year will also feature new professional chefs including: first Great British Menu winner Kate Austen, influencer and cookbook author Sam Holland, Chef Patron at The Dorchester Jean-Philippe Blondet, Soho restaurateur Angelo Sato and Chef in Residence at Fallow Nokx Majozi.
Format and reactions
Each episode culminates in a final showdown cook-off, where the bottom two celebrities fight to avoid elimination by preparing a dish independently for a blind taste test by the professional chefs. Unaware of who produced each dish, professionals could unknowingly vote their celebrity partner out of the competition, leaving them empty-handed, without the coveted Golden Frying Pan trophy.
Speaking about returning to the show, Emma Willis said: "I’m thrilled to be back in the kitchen for the sixth series of Cooking With The Stars. Year after year our celebrities continue to outdo themselves, surprising us and the audience with their culinary capability.
"This year we have a jam-packed line-up, with four additional celebrities competing compared to last year. With a fuller kitchen, there is bound to be even more fun, commotion, and kitchen disasters!"
Tom Allen said: "I admire our celebrities' confidence to showcase their cooking prowess by preparing dishes for a panel of esteemed chefs.
"Emma and I are joining forces again to unleash a brand-new season, there’ll undoubtedly be spectacular wins and downright catastrophes (fingers crossed it’s just slightly burnt, not inedible!). Get ready, let the delicious chaos commence!"
Cooking With The Stars is a partnership between M&S Food, ITV and South Shore. Fans can tune in on Monday October 5 at 7.30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
