Cooking with the Stars 2024 cast: Confirmed celebrity line-up
Meet who will be heading into the kitchen!
![©South Shore Katherine Ryan, Harry Pinero, Carol Volderman, Ellie Simmonds, Pasha Kovalev, Abbey Clancy, Christopher Biggins and Linford Christie for Cooking with the Stars, wearing aprons](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2024/07/cwtssr405-7bbaf52.jpg?quality=90&resize=980,654)
Cooking with the Stars is back for a fourth season as eight celebrities are all put to the ultimate test with their cooking skills.
Over the course of the episodes, the celebrities will be paired with top chefs – including the likes of Rosemary Shrager, Jean-Christophe Novelli and Jack Stein – who will mentor them during each challenge, hoping to turn them into restaurant-level cooks.
Hosted by Emma Willis and Tom Allen, the show returns with famous faces across the board, all hoping to be named the winner!
Read on to find out who will be joining the 2024 cast of Cooking with the Stars.
Cooking with the Stars 2024 cast
- Ellie Simmonds OBE
- Abbey Clancy
- Linford Christie
- Katherine Ryan
- Christopher Biggins
- Carol Vorderman
- Harry Pinero
- Pasha Kovalev
Read on to learn more about each of the contestants.
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Ellie Simmonds OBE
![Ellie Simmonds Ellie Simmonds wearing a leopard print dress, with her arms to the side smiling ahead.](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2024/07/cwtssr420-2f26d88.jpg?quality=90&fit=700,466)
Age: 29
Job: Former Paralympian swimmer
Instagram: @elliesimmonds
X/Twitter: @EllieSimmonds1
Ellie Simmonds is a former Paralympian swimmer who, over the course of her career, set a world record for the 200m medley at the Rio Paralympics in 2016.
Ellie has also featured on the likes of Strictly Come Dancing, in which she was partnered with Nikita Kuzmin.
Simmonds signed up for Cooking with the Stars to "expand" her knowledge of cooking.
"I think everyone wants to cook," she said. "I think it's something that everybody loves doing, whether it's cooking for yourself or cooking for your loved ones and impressing people. I think to have that extra knowledge is just an amazing opportunity you can't so no too.
"Also, I love competing, I love competition."
Abbey Clancy
![Abbey Clancy Abbey Clancy wearing a blush pink two-piece, with her hands in her pockets, looking ahead.](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2024/07/cooking-with-the-stars-1-7d518ce.jpg?quality=90&fit=700,466)
Age: 38
Job: Model and TV personality
Instagram: @abbeyclancy
X/Twitter: @OfficialClancy
Abbey Clancy is a model and TV personality, who rose to fame after placing as the runner-up in season 2 of Britain's Next Top Model. She then went on to present the series from 2015 until its cancellation in 2017.
In 2013, Clancy took home the Glitterball trophy alongside Aljaž Škorjanec.
Clancy loves "learning new skills" and was keen to improve her cooking and in turn, signed up for the ITV series.
She said: "I actually asked Pete for cooking lessons for Christmas and then this opportunity came up. I was so excited to be taught by a Michelin starred chef."
Linford Christie
![Linford Christie Linford Christie wearing a pink t-shirt and blue jeans, smiling ahead with his arms folded across his chest.](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2024/07/cwtssr427-75926c6.jpg?quality=90&fit=700,466)
Age: 64
Job: Former sprinter and athletics coach
Instagram: @linford_christie
X/Twitter: @ChristieLinford
Linford Christie is a former sprinter and athletics coach and is the only British man to have won gold medals in the 100 metres at all four major competitions open to athletes. That includes the Olympic Games, the World Championships, the European Championships and the Commonwealth Games.
"I'm always bragging about how I can cook," said Christie when asked his motivation for joining the show. "So I thought I should give it a go and learn some new skills."
Katherine Ryan
![Katherine Ryan Katherine Ryan wearing a floral blouse and a green skirt. She is smiling ahead and has her hands placed together.](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2024/07/cooking-with-the-stars-2-7a49965.jpg?quality=90&fit=700,466)
Age: 41
Job: Comedian
Instagram: @kathbum
X/Twitter: @Kathbum
Katherine Ryan is a comedian and TV presenter who rose to fame in the UK following her appearances on 8 Out of 10 Cats, Never Mind the Buzzocks, A League of Their Own and Mock the Week amongst many others.
Ryan wants to become a better cook and was keen to be a part of something that she would watch.
She explained: "When I'm watching television, I really want to get to know somebody’s personality. I want to know who they are when they are caught off guard and not focusing on being a character. I think this show really gets to the heart of who someone is.
"I think I'll know Carol [Vorderman] better just by seeing when her hands and mind are distracted, and she is her funny true self.
"I'm a really terrible cook. Well, I don’t think I’m bad at cooking, I just think I haven't got the tips, tricks and the hacks to put together delicious flavours and take the time to make things."
Christopher Biggins
![Christopher Biggins Christopher Biggins wearing a blue shirt and pink trousers, laughing with his hands in his pockets.](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2024/07/cwtssr403-a219c3e.jpg?quality=90&fit=700,466)
Age: 75
Job: Actor and TV presenter
Instagram: @biggins.christopher
X/Twitter: N/A
Christopher Biggins is an actor and television presenter, who viewers may recognise from winning I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, Celebrity Come Dine With Me, Channel 4's Celebrity Five Go To and Celebrity Masterchef.
When Christopher Biggins found out he was going to be working with Rosemary Shrager, he was "thrilled", after having worked with her on Tipping Point.
"We had a lot of laughs so I knew it would be a fun show to do with her and indeed it was," he said. "It was lots of fun and I learnt one or two things."
Carol Vorderman
![Carol Vorderman Carol Vorderman wearing a brown coloured dress, with her hands on her hips.](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2024/07/cwtssr404-db3cd68.jpg?quality=90&fit=700,466)
Age: 63
Job: Broadcaster
Instagram: @carolvorders
X/Twitter: @carolvorders
Carol Vorderman is a broadcaster and media personality, who began her career on the Channel 4 series Countdown. Vorderman has also presented a variety of programmes including The Pride of Britain Awards, Have I Got News for You and Loose Women.
One of Vorderman's main motivations for joining Cooking with the Stars was to learn how to "love cooking again".
She explained: "I used to cook all the time and then about ten years ago, I just stopped literally. I think after cooking for the kids and my mum and the family, as I started cooking for the family when I was ten, I think I just had enough.
"The knowledge is there but I just fell out of love with it, so my motivation was to get cooking again."
Harry Pinero
![Harry Pinero Harry Pinero wearing a green tracksuit, with one hand in his pocket, smiling ahead.](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2024/07/cwtssr423-3524072.jpg?quality=90&fit=700,466)
Age: 33
Job: YouTuber
Instagram: @harrypinero
X/Twitter: @harrypinero
Harry Pinero is a YouTuber and social media personality who many may recognise from his video with the Sidemen and Beta Squad.
Like some of the other celebrity contestants, Pinero's motivation was to learn how to cook.
"My whole life I have basically been getting cooked for like a King or a Prince, however you want to put it but I definitely wanted to learn some skills," he explained.
"So it wasn't about winning the competition, it was about learning skills and techniques and what it actually takes to cook. I am getting taught by a Michelin star chef and that’s not something everyone has the opportunity to do, so I feel like I have won just based off that.
"Also, I have a son so to be able to cook for him and cook fun food for him, and once he starts growing up and he sees me cook, he will want to as well."
Pasha Kovalev
![Pasha Kovalev Pasha Kovalev wearing a light blue shirt a dark coloured blazer and trousers, smiling with one hand on his hip and the other stretched outwards.](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2024/07/cwtssr430-c4ceca1.jpg?quality=90&fit=700,466)
Age: 44
Job: Professional Latin and ballroom dancer
Instagram: @pashakovalev
X/Twitter: @PashaKovalev
Pasha Kovalev is a professional dancer, who many will recognise from his stint on Strictly Come Dancing, in which he appeared on from 2011 to 2018.
The former Strictly star explained that his main motivation was food!
"I cook a little bit but it's always nice to learn new skills in that department and there is no better way of learning than when you are under pressure," he said.
"As you have to learn fast and I love learning and this is the best show to mix those things together."
Cooking with the Stars will begin on ITV at 8pm on Tuesday 30th July.
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