Celebrity Masterchef cast: Who's getting hot in the kitchen?

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Looking for your Celebrity Masterchef cast for this 2018 edition? Look no further.

We’ve got famous faces from the worlds of television, music, sports, and comedy.

And then someone decided to give them knives… and a deadline.

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AJ Pritchard

One of the Strictly Come Dancing pros now let loose on… well, on other reality shows.

AJ is a dancer, choreographer, and apparently now a chef.

What does the AJ stand for? Alex Joseph, apparently. You’ll sleep better tonight for knowing that.

Stella Parton

Sister of Dolly, Stella is a musician in her own right. If we don’t get a reference to Stella’s ingredients containing a cup of ambition then frankly the show just isn’t trying hard enough.

You might recognise her most famous song, I Want to Hold You in My Dreams Tonight.

With three cookbooks under her belt, it’s safe to say that Stella knows her way around the kitchen.

Monty Panesar

Also joining the Celebrity Masterchef cast is Monty Panesar. The former Sussex and Northamptonshire cricketer regularly featured for England from 2006-2013.

A left-arm spinner, he’ll be putting those quick hands to work with whisks instead of wickets.

Spencer Matthews

The Made in Chelsea star will be donning his chef’s hat.

Married to Vogue Williams and expecting his first child soon, Spencer is also brother-in-law to Pippa Middleton. He and Vogue met during filming for The Jump.

Apparently, this is his favourite show – dreams really do come true!

Jean Johansson

Once the weather presenter on STV, Jean has gone on to present Animal Park and regularly appears on the One Show.

She’s married to former Rangers and Charlton Athletic footballer, Jonatan Johansson. They have a six-year-old son, Junior.

A proud Glaswegian, she divides her time between Glasgow and London.

Anita Harris

As a singer, Anita had a number of hits in the 60s and also appeared in a couple of Carry On films. She worked with Dusty Springfield and Petula Clark.

She continues to tour with her one-woman shows, based on her life in showbiz and singing cabaret-style.

Together with her husband, Mike Margolis, she narrowly avoided bankruptcy in 2015.

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Clara Amfo

Clara is a Radio 1 presenter from Kingston-on-Thames.

Previously, she’s worked for Nickelodeon and CBBC, then moved to KISS FM. You’ve probably seen her presenting backstage at the BRIT Awards over the past couple of years, too.

From mixing decks to mixing bowls, she’s going to be a lively addition to the Celebrity Masterchef line-up.

Gemma Collins

The TOWIE star is unmissable, and there’s no telling how much chaos she can create in the kitchen. No doubt she’ll bring her same level of enthusiasm to this as everything else.

Having recently split from James Argent (um, again?) GC is footloose and fancy-free again.

We’re going to assume this Kim Kardashian tribute wasn’t part of the selection process.

Josh Cuthbert

Lead singer of Union J, the newlywed pop star will be showing off his chef skills, too. Though his band was created on the X Factor, this time he’ll be preparing everything from scratch.

From Portsmouth, Josh has appeared in the West End musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and once had a promising football career that ended due to injury.

Jay Blades

Jay is a designer, presenter and something of a social entrepreneur. A community leader, he spends a lot of time working with disadvantaged groups.

He has appeared on This Morning, Money for Nothing and The Repair Shop.

Frankie Bridge

Frankie was a member of S Club 8 and The Saturdays. She now regularly models for different brands.

Married to former footballer Wayne Bridge, they have two sons together. This isn’t her first reality competition either, as she’s previously served her time on Strictly Come Dancing.

Carol Decker

Lead singer of 80’s group T’Pau, Carol is still making music and even has a single out right now.

She’s married to a chef, Richard Coates, but despite owning restaurants together, Carol confesses that she’s got “worse and worse” by cooking less over the years.

John Partridge

Former Eastenders actor John played bad boy Christian Clarke. He’s now doing a one-man show at the Edinburgh Fringe, quite literally all-singing and all-dancing.

A cancer survivor, John also appeared on The Real Full Monty to raise money and awareness for testicular cancer and other men’s health causes.

Lisa Maxwell

Best known for her years on The Bill, Lisa has also appeared on Eastenders and Hollyoaks. 

She presented on Loose Women for five years but left the show after calling it ‘money for old rope’ and not a real job.

As strange trivia facts go, she didn’t actually meet her father until she was 45 years old.

Martin Bayfield

The former police officer played rugby union for England and was part of the Five Nations Grand Slam winning team in 1992.

Way cooler than that, he also stood in as Robbie Coltrane’s stunt double in the Harry Potter films, having the frame to convince as Hagrid. He also played younger Hagrid in flashbacks.

In addition, Martin has presented World’s Strongest Man and Crimewatch.

Michelle Ackerley

A presenter on Watchdog and The One Show, Michelle also pops up on CBBC from time to time. You might also have seen her on Council House Crackdown.

While filming a riot reconstruction for Crimewatch Roadshow, she was hit by a petrol bomb and was (briefly) on fire on live TV. Luckily, it was extinguished almost right away.

Keith Allen

The actor is frequently overshadowed by his famous offspring these days. Lily, of course, and Game of Thrones’ Alfie.

Still, he found fame through comedy with The Comic Strip Presents… as well as his own stand-up specials. He has appeared in dramas such as Robin Hood and Bodies.

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Chizzy Akudolu

Having starred in Holby City as cardiac surgeon Mo Effanga, Chizzy is actually about to return to the show for two months.

In the meantime, she’s danced on Strictly and presented on Loose Women.

She also has a brown belt in karate, although those kind of chops won’t help in the kitchen.

WATCH CELEBRITY MASTERCHEF FROM THURSDAY AUGUST 23RD ON BBC ONE,  AT 8 PM.

Lola Keeley