Celebrity Best Home Cook contestants: Meet the celebs on the line up for 2021

Celebrity Best Home Cook is on its way to BBC One – here’s who’s on the line up of contestants.

The show will see ten famous faces donning the Best Home Cook apron as they cook their hearts out with one goal: to serve up brilliant and tasty food to impress judges Mary Berry, Angela Hartnett and Chris Bavin in a bid to be crowned Celebrity Best Home Cook 2021.

In each episode the celebrities will face two rounds: Mary’s Ultimate challenge, where contestants serve up their tried and tested dishes for special occasions. Followed by Chris’s Rustle Up challenge, where they are given one star ingredient and one hour to make it shine.

Those who don’t impress will face Angela’s Eliminator round. Going head to head they will follow one of Angela’s recipes to a tee. The result of this dish alone, judged blind, will determine who stays in the competition and can return to cook another day.

Hosted by Claudia Winkelman, Celebrity Best Home Cook airs Tuesday and Wednesday nights at 9PM on BBC One.

Celebrity Best Home Cook contestants

Ferne McCann

Reality TV star Ferne McCann says: “I’ll bring personality to my food – explore lots of flavours and colours, keep things exciting with lots of variety to. The thing I love about food is exploring different ingredients to keep things interesting.”

 

Ed Balls

Broadcaster and former Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls says: “Yvette, my wife, thinks presentation will be important for Chris and Angela and she’s told me to raise my game. I hope I can impress the judges that way, but in the end I’m sure it’s all going to come down to flavour.”

 

Ruth Madeley

Don’t Take My Baby and Years And Years actor Ruth Madeley says she plans to impress the judges by “dazzling them with my charm and wit!” She adds: “If my food is bad, I guarantee I will at least make them laugh.”

 

Tom Read Wilson

Celebs Go Dating’s Tom Read Wilson says: “[The judges] will never be guinea pigs. Anything that has had muted praise from chums and family hitherto I will not attempt to resurrect. Only often requested dishes.”

 

Shobna Gulati

Coronation Street and Doctor Who actor Shobna Gulati says she’s full of nerves and excitement about the show: “Nerves over my lack of baking skills, but excitement over bringing less traditionally British food to the table.”

 

Karim Zeroual

CBBC presenter and Strictly contestant Karim Zeroual says: “[Viewers] can look forward to watching me have loads of fun whilst my love for cooking can hopefully inspire young guys and girls in the kitchen to enjoy cooking and not see it as a chore, with some smiles on faces as well!

 

Rachel Johnson

Journalist and presenter Rachel Johnson says her signature dish is Macaroni cheese: “It’s a cheese bomb. It’s an explosion of three cheeses, baked with pasta. What’s not to like? If I say I’m making my famous mac n cheese it doesn’t just bring the boys to the yard, people will drive for hours to stuff their faces with it until they are comatose.”

 

Ed Byrne

Comedian and presenter Ed Byrne says: “We can’t say for sure I’m going to impress [the judges] at all, but my plan is to try and put as much of my personality into each dish as I can and as little of my hair as possible.”

 

Desiree Burch

Comedian and writer Desiree Burch says: “I am going to try to choose things that are challenging but interesting to me, because cooking is a process of adventure and discovery, but I am going to work to make sure all those things have flavour because, at the end of the day, I think flavour reigns supreme. I hope I’ll be able to deliver on that, and that the judges want to come along for the ride.”

 

Gareth Thomas

Former Welsh rugby captain Gareth Thomas says: “I will try anything, I don’t stay in my comfort zone and I’m always prepared to go the extra mile.”

 

Celebrity Best Home Cook airs on Tuesday, 26 January 2021 at 9PM on BBC One.