Celebrity MasterChef: Judges Gregg Wallace and John Torode make VERY surprising decision ahead of the quarter finals

August 3, 2023

Celebrity MasterChef returned for episode two on Thursday night as the four remaining stars in the first heat battled for a place in the quarter final.

Reality star Dani Dyer, Inbetweeners actor James Buckley, comedian and actor Marcus Brigstocke and Gogglebox’s Mica Ven took on three cooking challenges.

The first test was the Pairs Challenge as the celebrities were tasked with cooking a crowd-pleasing dish which had to be identical in both appearance and flavour.

However, only one team member had the basic instructions of how to cook the dish and needed to communicate with their teammate to get the job done.

Next, the four hopefuls needed to take on all the lessons they have learned about teamwork and communication, as for the first time in three years, they headed into the fire of a professional kitchen during a busy lunchtime service.

Back: Celebrity MasterChef returned for episode two on Thursday night as the four remaining stars in the first heat battled for a place in the quarter final

Line up: Reality star Dani Dyer , Inbetweeners actor James Buckley (pictured), comedian and actor Marcus Brigstocke and Gogglebox’s Mica Ven took on three cooking challenges

Their next test was the brand new Food Truck Challenge where the celebrities must cook a dish that they would serve from their own dream food truck.

At the end of the tasks Gregg and John had to decide who to send home and take three forward to the quarter finals.

Dani and Marcus were first to be saved leaving James and Mica at risk of elimination.

However the judges surprised them by announcing that in fact all of them were going through and no one was being sent home.

Gregg announced as they all looked relieved: ‘It was to tough to call we don’t want to lose you!’

James said afterwards: ‘I’m so happy to still be here excited to see what happens next!’

Mica added: ‘I thought I was going to start crying! I am so happy to get the chance to cook again!’

It comes after Richie Anderson was the first contestant to be booted off Celebrity MasterChef on Wednesday night’s episode as the new series kicked off.

Tough: The first test was the Pairs Challenge as the celebrities were tasked with cooking a crowd-pleasing dish which had to be identical in both appearance and flavour

Decisions: At the end of the tasks Gregg and John had to decide who to send home and take three forward to the quarter finals

Nice! However the judges surprised them by announcing that in fact all of them were going through and no one was being sent home

Scary: Next, the four hopefuls needed to take on all the lessons they have learned about teamwork and communication, as for the first time in three years, they headed into the fire of a professional kitchen during a busy lunchtime service

The TV and radio personality, 35, ran into trouble after undercooking his jerk chicken dish and up serving judges Gregg and John meat that was raw and pink in the middle.

He joked: ‘If they judge before the salmonella kicks in, I’ll be fine!’ ahead of getting his feedback about the dish.

After being kicked out he said: ‘I’ve had such a good time it’s given me the bug. This isn’t the last you’ll see of me in the kitchen!’

Fans were in hysterics after his cooking gaffe as one wrote on Twitter: ‘Why did the chicken cross the road, because you didn’t cook it Ritchie!’

Another said: ‘Listen you give me pink chicken I’m sending you home, no questions asked.’

A third wrote: ‘What’s a bit of pink chicken? About a week on the toilet #CelebrityMasterChef.’

Someone else said: ”’If they do the judging before the salmonella kicks in, I should be fine”. #CelebrityMasterChef.’

Another penned: ‘What’s a bit of pink chicken if your sauce is good??? KILLING PEOPLE YOU MUPPET. #MasterChefUK #CelebrityMasterChef.’

A different viewer said: ‘Aww bless Richie you can see he’s trying his best!’

Celebrity MasterChef is back on BBC One for its 18th series and this summer is set to get even hotter, as the who’s who of music, comedy, drama and showbusiness battle it out to become the Celebrity MasterChef 2023 Champion.

Across six weeks, judges John and Gregg will be putting their own taste buds through a sensory assault course, as they discover which celebrities have the palate and skill to chop, slice and sizzle their way to lifting the iconic Celebrity MasterChef trophy.

It is the start of the Celebrity MasterChef Heats, and this week the first five celebrities up for the culinary challenge were Dani, James, Marcus, Mica and Richie.

The first challenge for the five hopefuls was Under The Cloche. In front of each celebrity was a cloche, each concealing a different ingredient.

Busy day: Their next test was the brand new Food Truck Challenge where the celebrities must cook a dish that they would serve from their own dream food truck

Challenge: Mica and Marcus were sent to an Indian restaurant in Mayfair to cook up some dishes

Full on: While James and Dani were sent off to an English restaurant in a hotel near Westminster

Oh no! It comes after Richie Anderson was the first contestant to be booted off Celebrity MasterChef on Wednesday night’s episode as the new series kicked off

With access to a larder, the celebrities had to create one plate of food showcasing their ingredient to demonstrate to the judges they have potential.

With nerves running high and just over an hour to create their dish from scratch, the contestants had to think on their feet to impress the judges.

Then in the final test of culinary creativity, the celebrities were asked to prepare their Dinner Party Dishes – a main course and a dessert that they would cook to impress someone who was coming round to eat – in just one hour and fifteen minutes.

The celebrities worked furiously in a final attempt to prove themselves to John and Gregg because at the end of this test, one of them had to go home.