The line up of celebrities on Cooking With The Stars’ fourth series features a cast of famous faces from the worlds of acting, music, sport and more.
The ultimate celebrity culinary contest airs Tuesdays on ITV1 and ITVX, hosted once again by Emma Willis and Tom Allen.
Eight celebrities will be paired with professional chefs who will mentor them, in a bid to transform them from amateur to expert in a matter of weeks.
Meet the line up
Those taking part in series four are:
- Paralympian Ellie Simmonds
- Model and presenter Abbey Clancy
- Athlete Linford Christie
- Actor and television host Christopher Biggins
- Presenter Carol Vorderman
- Comedian Katherine Ryan
- YouTuber Harry Pinero
- Strictly professional dancer Pasha Kovalev
Find out more about the stars below…
Ellie Simmonds
Ellie joined the show to expand her cooking knowledge and work with an incredible chef, saying, “I think everyone wants to cook…to have that extra knowledge is just an amazing opportunity you can’t say no to.” She loves competing and has learned much about presentation, noting, “Normally you just bang the food on a plate and not think about it.”
Ellie has also improved her cutting skills and use of spices. Inspired by the need to fuel her body optimally as an athlete, she now finds joy in cooking for others. Her signature dish is sweet and sour tofu with brown rice and broccoli, and her guilty pleasure is dessert most evenings. She admitted to a cooking disaster when she forgot to add flour to her sweetcorn fritters.
Abbey Clancy
Abbey joined the show to improve her cooking skills, having “never been taught how to cook.” She was excited about learning from a Michelin-starred chef. Her love for food and travel fuels her cooking inspiration, particularly Italian cuisine. At home, Abbey is the primary cook, with fish pie being a family favourite.
Her food heaven is pizza, especially Hawaiian, while her food hell is artichoke. Abbey has faced challenges in the competition due to time pressure and being under the spotlight. She cherishes food-related memories, especially Christmas, associating food with good times and family gatherings.
Linford Christie
Linford joined the show to test his cooking skills and learn new ones. Inspired by his grandma and dad, who were excellent cooks, Linford loves the satisfaction of people enjoying his food. Reflecting on his athletic career, he said, “I never had a diet as such, I just didn’t eat red meat.”
His favourite food memory is his mum’s green banana porridge. Linford often cooks rice, peas, and chicken for others. The competition has been an eye-opener, teaching him new techniques. He acknowledged having cooking disasters, such as getting lost in recipes.
Katherine Ryan
Katherine joined the show to improve her cooking and be part of a show that reveals true personalities. She has learned valuable tips, such as flavour combinations and using ingredients like miso paste and five spice.
Her family inspires her cooking, aiming to provide delicious meals for her kids. Katherine finds Pasha to be her biggest competition and enjoys the supportive environment with her castmates. She has faced numerous cooking disasters, including cutting herself and spilling ingredients, but values the learning experience.
Christopher Biggins
Christopher was thrilled to join the show to work with Rosemary Shrager, recalling their fun together on Tipping Point. His biggest inspiration is the social aspect of dining at Jo Allen in Covent Garden, where he learned that dining out is about more than just food. He loves making pasta dishes, particularly aioli.
His food heaven is a baked potato with caviar, while his food hell is mussels and oysters. Christopher would have loved to cook for Queen Elizabeth, appreciating her sense of humour. He has had cooking disasters due to distractions, but cherishes food memories from Italy.
Carol Vorderman
Carol joined the show to rekindle her love for cooking, which she lost after years of cooking for her family. Her stepfather, an Italian prisoner of war, inspired her with Italian cuisine. Carol’s go-to Sunday dish is cheesy chicken or steak, a recipe from her stepfather.
Her food heaven is Italian food and vegetables, while her food hell is oysters and overly chocolatey foods. She has had numerous cooking disasters due to her distracted nature. Her favourite food memory is Christmas Day, enjoying a full festive meal with all the traditional trimmings.
Harry Pinero
Harry’s motivation for joining the show was to learn how to cook, having been pampered with meals all his life. He loves food, especially Japanese cuisine, and wants to cook traditional dishes for his mum, who he respects deeply for her cooking. His food heaven is a fusion of oxtail, jollof rice, and plantain, while his food hell includes olives, duck, couscous, and cabbage. He would love to cook for Jamie Foxx, inspired by his career. Harry appreciates the supportive environment of the show but has had several cooking disasters. His favourite food memory is his mum’s homemade pizza, which gave him a newfound respect for her cooking skills.
Pasha Kovalev
Pasha joined the show for his love of food and to learn new cooking skills under pressure, noting, “There is no better way of learning than when you are under pressure.” He finds performing in the kitchen more prolonged and stressful compared to dancing. Pasha’s inspiration comes from trying different recipes and recreating dishes from his childhood.
He thinks Katherine Ryan would be a good dance partner for Strictly due to her work ethic. Pasha has had minor cooking disasters, such as burning rice. His food heaven is his mum’s cooking and ramen noodles, while his food hell is Holodets, a jelly dish with meat that he dislikes.
Throughout the series, celebrities will receive guidance from their chef mentor as they strive to prepare the winning dish in a sequence of thrilling cooking battles. The participant who loses each battle will then face a critical challenge to retain their spot in the contest during the feared cook off.
With all the chefs judging blindly, there’s a chance that the losing celebrity could be eliminated by their own chef mentor. But the question remains: who will be able to withstand the pressure and ultimately emerge as the culinary champion of this exhilarating cooking competition?
Emma Willis said: “I’m so excited to be heading back into the Cooking With The Stars kitchen alongside Tom for an all new series. We have a brilliant new line-up of celebrities who are set to be put to the test. You never know what their capabilities are which makes it a lot of fun. And if we’re lucky, we get to mop up the leftovers from the worktops!”
Tom Allen added: “I cannot believe how lucky I am to watch another batch of celebrities – all pretty much clueless in the kitchen – turning out the most amazing dishes. All in a bid to get their hands on my golden frying pan. Emma and I are back in the Cooking With The Stars kitchen and we are over the moon!”
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