Celebrity MasterChef 2015: meet the contestants
From Rylan Clark to Yvette Fielding via Chesney Hawkes and Arlene Phillips, here are the famous (and not so famous) faces taking on the culinary challenge this year...
Yes, it's come round again. A brand new batch of celebrities are hoping to wow MasterChef judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace with their prowess in the kitchen. Every Thursday five of them will battle it out over hot stoves, and only the four best will make it into the tougher Friday round, which will see them face large-scale catering assignments. Week by week those familiar faces will fall by the wayside until 2015's champion is crowned. But who's in the running? Meet this year's contenders...
Sarah Harding
Sarah Harding is best known as one fifth of pop group Girls Aloud, who rose to fame in 2002 on ITV’s reality show Popstars: The Rivals. Harding has since turned her attention to acting, making a cameo appearance in 2007’s big-screen outing of St Trinian's and the sequel. Harding also starred in BBC television film Freefall, opposite Dominic Cooper. Girls Aloud reunited in 2012 for their tenth anniversary tour and Harding has suggested she will release a solo album. Hopefully she'll whip up John and Gregg Something Kinda Ooooh in the kitchen.
Yvette Fielding
Radio Times readers once voted Yvette their favourite Blue Peter presenter of all time. Yvette was the youngest-ever signing on children's show, starting three months before her 19th birthday in 1987. Flipping a pancake became one of her most memorable moments (it was stuck to the pan), so here’s hoping there’s no call for pancake-making on MasterChef. Fielding has since appeared on various shows including Eggheads and Celebrity Mastermind, for which her specialist subject was Henry VIII.
Patricia Potter
Actress Patricia Potter has appeared in New Tricks, Extras and Absolutely Fabulous and is best known for playing Diane Lloyd in the medical drama Holby City. Patricia spent four years on the show and has said she could see herself being a surgeon in real life. Whether she’ll have steady hands in the kitchen remains to be seen.
Chesney Hawkes
Chesney Hawkes rose to fame after playing the title role in 1991 film Buddy’s Song. His biggest hit The One and Only was on the soundtrack and went on to top the charts. As well as releasing more music, Hawkes took to the stage for Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat in 2011. Hawkes was meant to compete on reality show Dancing on Ice in 2012, but an ankle injury forced him to pull out. Ironically, he went on to play an accident-prone version of himself in ITV’s Panto! later that year. Here's hoping he stays injury-free in the kitchen.
Sheree Murphy
Murphy is no stranger to reality TV shows, placing second on 2005’s series of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. Let's hope she doesn’t take culinary inspiration from those nasty Bushtucker Trials. The actress boasts various long-running shows on her TV CV, but is best known for playing Tricia Dingle in ITV soap Emmerdale.
