Jay McGuiness has become the first contestant to leave Celebrity MasterChef 2026 after his attempt at a pie was dismissed as “terrible”.
The Wanted star, 36, struggled during the latest round as the Heat 1 celebs returned to the kitchen for two more challenges.
And there was a surprise guest waiting for them.
TV and radio star Paddy McGuinness joined the show for a new Who’s Coming For Dinner? segment.
Paddy set the five contestants the challenge of cooking their best pies.
Unfortunately for Jay, his kitchen troubles continued and ultimately cost him his place in the competition.
Who left Celebrity MasterChef tonight?
Jay was the first contestant to be sent home from Celebrity MasterChef 2026 after two difficult challenges in the kitchen.
His first problem came when he served up a cheesecake that was still sitting on the base of the tin. Removing it would have caused the entire dessert to fall apart.
Celebrity MasterChef’s newest judge Giorgio Locatelli told Jay that he needed to use more butter.
Things became even more difficult when Jay prepared a “classic vegetarian pie” for Paddy, Giorgio and Grace Dent. He filled it with mushrooms, but the dish quickly became a talking point.
The judges were already worried about the amount of liquid the mushrooms could release. Giorgio predicted that the pie could become soggy.
He explained: “Mushrooms keep on releasing liquids.”
Paddy even joked: “Do you want to get aa couple of sponges just to drop in there and soak it all up?”
But Jay’s pie did not suffer from the problem they expected. Instead, it went wrong in a completely different way.
Giorgio told him: “Jay, the pastry has cracked a lot. It has definitely got a problem. It’s too crumbly and is almost sandy. You’ve added too much fat into the mixture.”
Paddy had more positive things to say, while Grace praised Jay’s mushroom gravy. His pie itself did not receive the same treatment.
Grace told him: “Your moment of shining is outside of the pie.”
Jay McGuiness leaves Celebrity MasterChef 2026
Jay’s early exit means he has missed out on the first Celebrity MasterChef 2026 quarter final.
The judges decided that Jay and broadcaster Jason Mohammad were the bottom two contestants. However, they chose to save Jason and send Jay home.
Grace explained to Giorgio why she thought Jay’s time on the show had come to an end.
She said: “You were quite upset by the fact that his cheesecake still had the bottom of the tin on it.”
Giorgio was also unimpressed by Jay’s pastry, telling Grace: “It shows a very little understanding of pastry because that dough was terrible.”
Jay was then seen hanging up his MasterChef apron after his short stint in the competition.
He said: “I am one of give siblings, I was in a band of five boys, there are five of us mini MasterChefs. It sucks to go. I hate to break up the band. But the memories last.”
Shakira Khan, Joe Pasquale, Emily Campbell and Jason have now made it through to the Heat 1 quarter final.
Read more: All the celebrities in the Strictly Come Dancing 2026 line-up
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