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Celebrity MasterChef

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Celebrities scramble to compete in the kitchen. What culinary triumphs will they whisk up?

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Celebrity MasterChef: Series 8

Gregg Wallace

John Torode

Janet Street-Porter

Heidi Range

Katy Brand

Jo Wood

Katie Attwood

David Crerar

Celebrity MasterChef: Series 8: Episode 1

Episode 1

Series 8

BBC One - Celebrity MasterChef, Series 8, Episode 1

The contestants face mystery box and palate tests, and cater for the Cirque du Soleil.

The celebrity cooking contest returns, with Janet Street-Porter, Heidi Range, Katy Brand and Jo Wood facing the mystery box and palate tests, and catering for the Cirque du Soleil.

Celebrity MasterChef returns for its eight series, with 16 familiar faces from the fields of showbusiness, music and sport all wanting to take the 2013 title. 

Episode one sees the first batch of celebrities undertake three tough culinary challenges in a bid to prove themselves to judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace. Setting foot in the MasterChef kitchen this week are writer and broadcaster Janet Street-Porter, Sugababe Heidi Range, comedian Katy Brand and businesswoman and Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood's ex-wife Jo Wood. 

The first challenge for the four hopefuls is a mystery box test; the legendary test of imagination and creativity in which the celebrities are presented with a range of ingredients. Here they come face-to-face with a spider crab - with nerves running high and just 50 minutes to cook their dish, the celebrities must think on their feet to impress the judges. 

But there's no time for complacency, as the contestants face their second challenge for the day - the fearsome and celebrated palate test. John demonstrates to the viewers at home Chinese duck noodle soup and wontons. Without seeing the demo, the celebrities are given just a few minutes to taste this dish, before being asked to write down exactly what it is in it, using their sense of smell and palate. They are then asked to recreate John's dish in just one hour - without a recipe. 

Finally, it's from the frying pan into fire as the celebrities are paired into teams and sent out to face the public for the first time. Cirque du Soleil are performing at the Royal Albert Hall, and the celebrities must provide lunch for the 100-strong hungry cast and crew. Heidi has performed there as an artist, but is she as comfortable in the kitchens as on the stage? 

With an array of ingredients including lamb, chicken, rice, pasta, fruits and vegetables, the two teams must devise, prepare and serve the lunch, catering for various tastes whilst creating meat-based, vegetarian and dessert dishes. Can the celebrities provide a good enough lunch to impress John and Gregg and stop the acrobats flipping out?

BBC One

Chef John Torode and writer Gregg Wallace search for the country's top celebrity chef

Chef and restaurateur John Torode and food writer and ingredients expert Gregg Wallace search for the country's top celebrity chef.

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