Celebrity MasterChef 2025 has said goodbye to its latest budding chef – Liberty X star Michelle Heaton.
The singer was eliminated from the BBC series tonight after dishing up a curdled cream and “dry” shepherd’s pie.
Michelle seemed gutted to be out of the competition, especially as it meant she just missed out on a semi-final place.
Hollyoaks actor Jamie Lomas, Love Island star-turned-racing pundit Chris Hughes had author and broadcaster Dawn O’Porter had better luck. The trio have all made it through to the next stage.
But where did it all go wrong for Michelle? Her curdled cream can take a lot of the blame…
Celebrity MasterChef: Michelle Heaton leaves show
In tonight’s episode, Michelle and her competitors took part in the show’s pairs contest. Jamie and Chris were paired together, while Michelle went with Dawn.
Each pair was given a one recipe but weren’t able to see each other. Fans of MasterChef will know this is a real rest of their communication and natural cooking knowledge as they work to create two identical dishes.
Both pairs had to make a dessert, but one definitely worked better as a team. Jamie and Chris seemed to produce matching puds. But John described watching Michelle and Dawn cook together as “stressful”.
The girls forgot to add the frangipane to their Bakewell tarts… and Michelle was then criticised for putting too much in. Oops!
The next task was the big one, though. Michelle, Jamie, Dawn and Chris had to create a restaurant-worthy two-course meal for this week’s guest judges.
MasterChef 2024 winner, Strictly’s Vito Coppola, was one of them. He was joined by his fellow finalists, actress Rochenda Sandall and Gladiator Harry Aikines-Aryeetey.
So what did everyone cook?
Celebrity MasterChef: Vito Coppola returns
Michelle had hoped to impress Vito, Rochenda and Harry with a layered shepherd’s pie with a parmesan crust. Pudding was an apple and blackberry crumble served with mascarpone and cream.
Chris dished up prawn and chorizo for his starter. His main course was monkfish with red pesto and wrapped in parma ham, served with sweet potato puree.
Dawn, meanwhile, also chose to cook prawns for her first course. But in homage to her Scottish dad, she served them on a ‘tatty scone’, also known as a potato cake. She then served a “posh roast” of pork fillet.
Jamie picked scallops and black pudding for his starter. For his main course, he dished up a rack of lamb in honey and mint with hasselback potatoes and a red wine jus.
His dish went down well, with Rochenda saying she would “scoff” all of his scallops. Harry, meanwhile, said Jamie’s lamb was “cooked to perfection”. John said his jus was “close to professional”.
Tat’s a hit
Vito said he wanted “more and more” tatty scones after trying Dawn’s first course. Her main also received a big thumbs up, with Grace saying it was “bang on”.
Chris’ prawn starter was a bit of a letdown, as it was over-seasoned. John liked his monkfish, but said he “wasn’t a fan” of his puree.
Unfortunately, Rochenda said Michelle’s shepherd’s pie was “dry” and Harry said her broccoli was “undercooked”. John said: “There’s sweet carrots and sweet potatoes but, quite honestly, it doesn’t taste like a lot.”
Michelle’s crumble didn’t get rave reviews, either. Her mascarpone and cream curdled. Grace also described her fruit as “over-stewed”, adding: “I don’t think that’s what she was looking for.”
It was no surprise when John and Grace booted her out. Grace said to Michelle: “It breaks my heart to send you home, you tried to hard.”
When is Celebrity MasterChef on next?
Jamie, Chris and Dawn are now through to the semi-finals. They join Antony Costa, Ginger Johnson and Katie McGlynn from last Celebrity MasterChef week’s heat.
The show returns at 8pm on BBC One on Tuesday December 2, 202, but not for the semis. Next week sees the third set of budding 2025 chefs enter the kitchen for the first time.
They are singer Alfie Boe, TV presenter Noreen Khan, rugby star Alun Wyn Jones, author Jodie Ounsley and TV personality, Ashley Cain.
Let’s hope they can all pull it out the bag. We have already had raw potatoes and dry chicken this week (thanks to Jaki Graham) and now split cream. John and Grace are no doubt praying for better!
Read more: Inside Celebrity MasterChef star Jaki Graham’s career, discography and songs she’s released