BELOVED celebrity chef Ainsley Harriot is heading back to the kitchen for this week’s Celebrity MasterChef semi-final.
Ainsley will put the remaining contestants through their paces as they attempt to recreate his favourite dish.
The BBC completion series Celebrity MasterChef will return to screens on Tuesday (10 September) with more episodes airing on Thursday and Friday evenings. All episodes are also available to stream from the beginning of the week on BBC iPlayer.
Former Ready Steady Cook host Ainsley will shake up the show during Thursday’s episode as he appears alongside regular judges Gregg Wallace and John Torode to push the remaining seven contestants to their limits.
Strictly pro dancer Vito Coppola, radio and TV presenter Craig Doyle, Line of Duty’s Rochenda Sandall, Gladiator star Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, Glow Up judge Dominic Skinner, Steps pop star Iain ‘H’ Watkins and EastEnders alum Tamer Hassan will battle it out in the kitchen as they each hope for a place in the finale.
He tasks them with recreating one of his favourite recipes, which requires some unusual ingredients.
Teasing Ainsley’s appearance on the reality cooking show to the contestants, John says: “Welcome back. This is a round where you’re going to have to trust your instincts and use all the knowledge that you’ve picked up along the way in the competition.
Gregg adds: “Listen, this is the semi finals and every now and again you just got to roll out the big guns. And the cookery guns don’t get a lot better than this.
“I now want to introduce you to someone that has been tickling our taste buds and gracing our television screens for decades. Ladies and gentlemen; Ainsley Harriott.”
Ainsley’s appearance is met by much enthusiasm by the contestants until it’s time for them to start cooking.
The synopsis for the episode teases: “The celebrities’ job is to recreate one of Ainsley’s favourite recipes. They will have to battle with unfamiliar ingredients and techniques to impress the judges and Ainsley himself.
“It’s all to play for, because the celebrity that shines the most earns a pass that takes them straight through to the next round.”
As one of the seven celebs will earn themselves a place in the final, the remaining six will have to go head-to-head in the kitchen once more. “This time, John and Gregg are asking for a real treat – the perfect pizza.”
On Friday’s episode, “not only will the celebrities have to prepare the dough and tasty toppings, but they will also need to light the wood-fired ovens and manage the scorching temperatures that they will cook them in.”
But “for one celebrity, it will be their last ‘pizza the action’ as they are sent packing, leaving the day’s best six to forge on in the hope of becoming Celebrity MasterChef champion 2024.”
The series has been full of drama so far as fan-favourite Christine McGuinness was eliminated early on after entering the competition to overcome her culinary fears.
Who is in Celebrity MasterChef 2024?
Who are the stars taking part in the 2024 BBC series?
- Charlotte Crosby – Former Geordie Shore star
- Chloe Burrows – Former Love Island star
- Christine McGuinness – Model and media personality
- Craig Doyle – Radio and TV Presenter
- Danielle Harold – Former EastEnders actor
- Diane Carson – Star of series two of The Traitors
- Dominic Skinner – Make-Up Artist and TV Judge (Glow Up)
- Edith Bowman – Radio and TV Presenter
- Emma Thynn – Model and TV Personality
- Eshaan Akbar – Actor and Comedian
- Harry Aikines-Aryeetey – Team GB Sprinter and Gladiator (Nitro)
- Ian ‘H’ Watkins – Steps
- Jake Quickenden – Actor, Singer, and TV Presenter
- Jamie MacDonald – Comedian
- Mutya Buena – Sugababes
- OJ Borg – BBC Radio 2 Presenter
- Rochenda Sandall – Actor
- Snoochie Shy – Radio and TV Presenter
- Tamer Hassan – Actor
- Vito Coppola – Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer
Meanwhile, hopeful finalist H scraped through by the skin of his teeth after he left Gregg fuming for missing out one big ingredient from his quarter final dish.
The pop star was tasked with dishing up the perfect sirloin steak, which was quick to impress the judges, but he forgot to add chips to round out the meal.
Gregg moaned about the missing fries when he and John were deciding who to put through to the semi-final at the end of the show.
“H gave us a sirloin steak,” he critiqued. “And it was absolutely beautifully cooked.
“I wanted some chips! Some potatoes! You know, complete the dish!”
Ainsley Harriott’s episode of Celebrity MasterChef airs on BBC One on Thursday at 8pm. This week’s episodes are also available to stream on BBC iPlayer from Monday.