Celebrity MasterChef is gearing up for a big return, and the BBC has unveiled a seriously star-studded line-up ready to battle it out in the kitchen.
15 famous faces from across the world of showbiz will be rolling up their sleeves and trying to win over the MasterChef judges — but who’s going to rise to the occasion? Who might follow in the (very capable) footsteps of last year’s champion, Strictly star Vito Coppola? And who’s destined to be a total recipe for disaster?
Here’s everything you need to know about the new series of Celebrity MasterChef, from the full line-up to the judging panel and the start time for the cooking chaos.
Celebrity MasterChef 2025 start time
Celebrity MasterChef and the famous line-up is back on BBC One tonight (Monday November 17, 2025) at 9pm for a one-hour opener — setting up a head-to-head ratings clash with I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, which launched on ITV1 last night.
But don’t get too comfortable, because the schedule gets a bit chaotic from here. Episode two shifts to an earlier 8pm slot on Tuesday November 18, so you’ll need to stay sharp to keep up.
The third episode drops on Thursday, returning to 9pm. Then next week, the cook-off continues across Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Phew. They really do like to keep us on our toes!
Celebrity Masterchef 2025 line up includes Alfie Boe OBE
Legendary singer and musical theatre actor Alfie Boe will step up to the plate in the new season. The 55-year-old previously worked as an apprentice mechanic in Blackpool. It was a customer that recommended he auditioned for an opera school in London, and since then, Alfie has never looked back.
Alfie’s career has been packed with standout roles, including leading Baz Luhrmann’s opera La bohème back in 2002 and taking on Jean Valjean in both the Broadway and West End productions of Les Misérables. He first stepped into the role in 2010, returning again in 2015, 2019 and most recently in 2024. He also appeared on Broadway in 2016 as part of Finding Neverland.
Alongside his stage work, Alfie has released an impressive 17 classical studio albums. He’s also well known for his long-running partnership with Michael Ball — the duo have put out five albums together. Their 2022 release, Together in Vegas, featuring classic Rat Pack hits, proved a huge success, reaching No 3 in the UK album chart.
Alfie is also no stranger to our TV screens. Again joined by Michael, the pair performed ITV specials: Ball & Boe: One Night Only in 2016, and Ball and Boe: Back Together the following year. Most recently, he starred in BBC One reality show, Freeze the Fear with Wim Hof.
Rugby player Alun Wyn Jones OBE
Heralded as one of the world’s best rugby players, will Alun be able to step up to the plate on Masterchef? The 40-year-old was highly decorated throughout his two decade career.
Having originally played for Swansea between 2004 and 2006, it was at the Osprey rugby club where he made his name. Alun scored 257 points there when he played for the team between 2005 and 2023. He then briefly played Toulon, before retiring in 2023.
Alun is also recognised on an international level. He is the world’s most-capped rugby union player, playing for Wales 158 times as well as captaining the British and Irish Lions. Having won three grand slams, Alun was named best player of the 2019 Six Nations Championships, and was nominated for World Player of the Year in 2015 and 2019.
Married to Dr Anwen Jones and sharing three daughters, Alun is now trying to develop his Welsh language skills. But do his real talents lie in the kitchen?
Singer and actor Antony Costa
Antony Costa shot to fame in 2000 as one part of boyband quartet Blue, alongside Lee Ryan, Duncan James and Simon Webbe. Their biggest hits included ‘All Rise’, ‘Too Close’ and ‘U Make Me Wanna’. The group split in 2005 after releasing three number one albums.
In this time, the 44-year-old pursued other projects, including a short-lived solo career. TV endeavours included starring in 2005’s edition of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here, and 2011’s Total Wipeout. He also pursued acting, starring in the stage version of Blood Brothers in 2006. Antony also toured the UK with Boogie Nights the following year. In 2009, Antony had a one-off part in BBC One’s Casualty. He had another brief appearance in the medical drama in 2014.
Blue reunited in 2011, and represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest that same year. They landed 11th place. they went on to star with other 90s and 00s pop bands, including Atomic Kitten, in 2013’s The Big Reunion. Blue has since released another three albums, with seventh outing Reflections out in 2026.
Most recently, you may have spotted Antony in BBC Two quiz, Richard Osman’s House of Games. No stranger to reality TV, we think Antony could go far against the other famous faces in the Celebrity Masterchef line-up.
Reality star Ashley Cain
Previously a footballer for Coventry City, Ashley Cain’s showbiz career started when he appeared on MTV’s Ex on the Beach in 2014. He appeared on the show again the following year.
In 2021, Ashley’s daughter Azaylia tragically died of cancer aged just eight months old. He had raised £1.5 million for his daughter’s specialist treatment in Singapore, but sadly she didn’t make it there. Alongside Azaylia’s mother and former partner Safiyya Vorajee, the pair launched a charity in Azaylia’s name to fight childhood cancer.
Now, 33-year-old Ashley has welcomed two sons with new partners. His first son, Aliyas Cain, was born in January last year. Meanwhile, Atlas Diamond Cain was born in November 2024.
Sports presenter and reality star Chris Hughes
After his legendary stint in Love Island back in 2017, the 32-year-old has become a regular on our screens. In 2018, he starred in reality series with then-girlfriend Olivia Attwood, titled Chris and Olivia: Cracking On. He also featured alongside Love Island winner Kem Cetinay in gameshow, You vs Chris & Kem, the same year. In 2019, he raised awareness for testicular cancer with BBC doc: Me, My Brother And Our Balls.
He has now moved towards sports reporting. Since 2019, he’s fronted live horse race coverage for ITV. In 2021, he has covered The Hundred cricket tournament for the BBC.
Chris is now possibly best known for his celebrity relationships. As well as dating Little Mix’s Jesy Nelson between 2019 and 2020, he is now in a relationship with US pop star JoJo Siwa. The pair met when they both starred on ITV’s Celebrity Big Brother earlier this year.
Broadcaster Dawn O’Porter
Best known for her sharp and insightful documentary work, Dawn O’Porter first made waves with Super Slim Me on BBC One in 2007, a one-off exploration into the Size 0 trend. A year later, she fronted a series of BBC Three documentaries delving into unconventional subjects, from nudity to lesbianism to pregnancy.
She went on to host Extreme Wife for Channel 4 in 2008, turning her attention to relationships and diving into topics such as polygamy, mail-order brides and the world of geishas.
In more recent years, Dawn has focused on body image and sustainability. Her 2009 series My Breasts Could Kill Me examined breast cancer, while 2014’s This Old Thing looked at the enduring appeal of vintage fashion.
Dawn married actor Chris O’Dowd in 2012, and they now share two children. These days, she’s established herself as a successful author, having published five novels — the latest, Honey Bee, was released last year. We’ll have to see if she has what it takes as part of the Celebrity Masterchef line-up.
Paralympian and actor Gaz Choudhry MBE
Gaz had both his legs amputated in 1995 after a serious accident when he was just 10 years old, and has played wheelchair basketball since he was 13.
The British basketball player participated in the 2012 London Paralympics for Great Britian’s wheelchair basketball side. The team won bronze; a feat Gaz repeated in the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games.
In 2022, Gaz was made an MBE in the Queen’s birthday honours list for his services to wheelchair basketball. Multi-talented, Gaz is now acting; he made his debut in Apple TV’s 2023 series Extrapolations.
Drag performer Ginger Johnson joins the Celebrity Masterchef line-up
Real name Donald Marshall, fans of BBC’s RuPaul’s Drag Race, will recognise Ginger as the winner of the show’s fifth season. Ginger’s drag performances are inspired by Golden Age Hollywood actresses. She decided to pursue the art after trying out drag at university.
When performing of Drag Race, the 37-year-old described herself as “a helium balloon in the shape of a woman”, and her performances as “silly” and “camp”.
Soul singer Jaki Graham
The legendary performer has performed with Cliff Richard, David Grant and Michael McDonald. Best known for her single ‘Could It Be That I’m Falling In Love’ in 1985, Jaki went on to release five further dance hits up to 1987.
Having released 10 studio albums, the 69-year-old has turned her talents to radio presenting. In 2016, she fronted Soul on Sunday on BBC Radio London.
Actor Jamie Lomas
Best known for playing the conniving Warren Fox in Hollyoaks, Jamie played the villain between 2006 and 2011. He briefly starred in BBC One’s EastEnders as Jake Stone between 2013 and 2015. Jake returned to the Chester soap in 2016, and left once more in 2024.
Jamie’s other TV roles included a stint in 2017’s I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here, where he placed second. Although, as part of the Celebrity Masterchef line-up, he’ll likely be eating and preparing very different cuisine to the jungle! He also (bravely) starred in The Full Monty on Ice in 2020.
A father of three, Jamie, 50 is now making another triumphant return to Hollyoaks later this year to celebrate the show’s 30th anniversary.
Gladiator Jodie Ounsley (Fury)
The 24-year-old was once a rising rugby union star before trading the scrum for the Gladiators arena. Jodie — known to viewers as Fury — played for the England Women’s team from 2019 to 2024, an incredible achievement made even more inspiring by her background. Born prematurely, she is profoundly deaf, and her selection for the national squad made her the world’s first deaf female rugby sevens international.
Her sporting talents don’t stop there. Back in 2016, Jodie took home a gold medal at the British Open Brazilian jiu-jitsu final.
Away from competition, she’s built up an impressive broadcasting portfolio too. In 2024, she reported for Channel 4 at the Paralympic Games in Paris, interviewing athletes and bringing viewers closer to the action.
Soap star Katie McGlynn is part of the line-up for Celebrity Masterchef
Katie’s first entree into acting was as the unruly Scout on BBC One’s popular school drama, Waterloo Road. She joined the cast of Coronation Street in 2013 as Sinead Tinker, before being killed off in an emotional storyline where the character developed cervical cancer. Katie was widely praised for her performance; in 2020, she won the gong for Best Serial Drama Performance at the National Television Awards.
After Coronation Street, she joined the cast of Hollyoaks in 2021 as young mother Becky Quentin. She left the soap in 2022.
Katie was a contestant in Strictly Come Dancing in 2021, partnered with Gorka Marquez. However, the pair were eliminated in week 3.
Singer Michelle Heaton
Shooting to fame in 2001 when she auditioned for Popstars, Michelle and the five other runners-up, who were not picked for the Hear’Say group, formed Liberty X. They released three studio albums and sold over three million records. The band split in 2007.
Since then, Michelle has dipped her toe in the reality TV circuit. In 2009, she was a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother, where she was the third housemate evicted. She reformed with Liberty X for ITV’s 2013 edition of The Big Reunion, and participated in 2023’s Dancing on Ice as well as Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins the same year.
In 2018, she released a memoir titled Hot Flush, where she discusses undergoing a double mastectomy and hysterectomy. The surgery resulted in Michelle, now 46, going into an early menopause.
Comedian Noreen Khan
The stand-up comedian is also a radio host, having fronted her own programme on the BBC Asian Network.
Her more recent TV work includes appearances on Countdown, Celebrity Antiques Roadtrip and Celebrity Mastermind and now she can add the Masterchef line-up to the list!
Noreen also fronted documentary series ‘Back in Time for Birmingham’, which looked at South Asian families who settled in the UK from the 1950s onwards.
Celebrity Masterchef also casts TV personality Uma Jammeh
Having risen to fame on Love Island last year, Uma has taken a more unusual route beyond the villa. Eschewing the usual reality TV route, the 25-year-old has established herself as an influencer with 937,000 Instagram followers.
Earlier this year, she got engaged to partner Wil Anderson, with Uma famously leaving the Love Island villa to pursue him.
Who are the judges?
John Torode, who has been at the helm of Masterchef since 2005, will be turning up the heat on the celebrities competing. However, it will be the 60-year-old’s final appearance on the popular BBC series.
Earlier this year, John, alongside former Gregg Wallace, were let go from the BBC following allegations of inappropriate behaviour on set.
This season marks Grace Dent’s first outing as a permanent Celebrity MasterChef judge among the line-up. The 52-year-old journalist, who serves as The Guardian’s chief restaurant critic, is already a familiar face to food-loving viewers thanks to appearances on MasterChef: The Professionals and The Great British Menu.
In 2023, she also took part in I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, but had to withdraw from the jungle on medical grounds.
Read more: MasterChef judge Grace Dent’s weight-loss ‘secret’ after eating 4,000 calories before 10am