BBC One and BBC iPlayer will air the 21st series of Celebrity MasterChef starting Tuesday 18 August. The five week run features a new judging pair consisting of chef Giorgio Locatelli and food critic Grace Dent. Guest judges Paddy McGuinness, Zoe Ball, and Morgan Burtwistle will each appear in one of the three initial heats to set bespoke culinary briefs for the contestants.
The series features fifteen celebrities including Donna Preston, Emily Campbell, Emily Steel, Eric Underwood, Jason Mohammad, Jay McGuiness, Joe Pasquale, Lauren Steadman, Max Fosh, Melvin Odoom, Nitin Ganatra, Shakira Khan, Sue Cleaver, Tom Simons, and Una Healy. Five celebrities compete in each of the first three heats. The top four performers from each heat progress to the quarter final. The competition continues through semi finals in week four before the final week.
The program is a Shine TV production, part of Banijay UK, in association with Ziji Productions. Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment Commissioning for the BBC, commissioned the series. Sarah Clay and Charlotte Smith serve as the commissioning editors for the network. Katy Fryer is the executive editor for Shine TV and Ryan Daly is the series producer.
The 21st series consists of a five week broadcast schedule. The initial phase comprises three heats with five contestants per group. Four contestants from each heat advance to the quarter final. This production is delivered to BBC One and BBC iPlayer.