Celebrity MasterChef — Season 12

The first batch of five celebrities undertake three tough challenges in a bid to prove their talent to judgesJohn TorodeandGregg Wallace. Hoping to show they have got what it takes are comedian and actor Jim Moir, TV presenter Angellica Bell, seven-time snooker world champion Stephen Hendry, presenter Julia Somerville and tennis legend Henri Leconte. The first challenge is the Mystery Box, and the contestants must use the ingredients in the box, as well as a basic larder, to create one dish. The celebrities are then split into two groups to cook for the first time in a restaurant kitchen. Jim, Stephen and Henri head to Aster, while Angellica and Julia are sent to Temper. In the final test, the contestants are asked to prepare a two-course menu of their own design in just one hour. The celebrities work furiously in a last attempt to prove themselves to the judges, because at the end of this test one of them is sent home.

The heats continue with the four remaining celebrities facing three more challenges. The first challenge is a knowledge and skills test, where the celebrities have to faceJohn TorodeandGregg Wallaceone at a time and identify a tray of ingredients, three spices and three leafy vegetables before being asked to make a lamb kofta, hummus and a flatbread from scratch in just 15 minutes. The celebrities are then split into two teams and are sent out on their first mass-catering challenge, for which they have to make lunch for over 100 members of staff at the Francis Crick Institute. The battle for a semi-final place then reaches its climax as the four celebrities must now cook a faultless two-course meal that will not only be judged by John and Gregg but also by Celebrity MasterChef champions Ade Edmonson, Emma Kennedy and Phil Vickery. Only the best two contestants can earn a semi-final place.

The second heat week sees five more celebrities enter the MasterChef kitchen. Battling for the crown are Olympic gold medallist Becky Adlington, pop star Rachel Stevens, actor Tyger Drew-Honey, performer and radio presenter Debbie McGee and Radio 1 DJ Dev Griffin.The first challenge is the Mystery Box, and the celebrities must use the given ingredients, including beef mince, pasta dough, ricotta cheese and pears, as well as a basic larder, to create one dish.The celebrities are then split into two groups to take on the challenge of cooking in a restaurant kitchen, preparing dishes for paying customers. Becky, Tyger and Rachel are sent to M, a grill restaurant in the City of London, while Debbie and Dev are sent to Italian restaurant Margot in Covent Garden.In the third and final test, the contestants are asked to prepare a two-course menu of their own design in just one hour. At the end of this test, one of the celebrities is sent home.

The week's heat continues with the four remaining celebrities fighting for a place in the semi-finals.The first challenge is a knowledge and skills test, where the celebrities have to face judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace one by one and demonstrate their ability to identify a tray of ingredients, three different eggs and three different types of mushroom, before being asked to make a breakfast - a hash brown, crispy bacon and poached eggs - in just 12 minutes.They are then split into two teams and are sent out on their first mass-catering challenge, for which they have to make lunch for 80 members of staff at Brooklands, site of the world's first purpose-built motor racing circuit and now home to Mercedes-Benz. With an array of ingredients, including diced lamb, salmon and beef mince, as well as a range of fruit and vegetables, the two teams must devise, prepare and serve the lunch, catering for various tastes while creating meat-based, vegetarian and dessert dishes in volume.It is then back to the MasterChef headquarters as the battle for a semi-final place reaches its climax. The four celebrities must cook a faultless two-course meal that will not only be judged by John and Gregg but also by past Celebrity MasterChef champion Kimberly Wyatt (2015), finalist Rylan Clark-Neal (2015) and semi-finalist Richard Coles (2016). Only the best two contestants can earn a semi-final place and come one step closer to winning the title of Celebrity MasterChef 2017.

Five more celebrities take on the challenge to become Celebrity MasterChef champion. Trying to impress judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace are presenter Ulrika Jonsson, opera singer Lesley Garrett, actor Nick Moran, children's TV presenter Barney Harwood and journalist and broadcaster Aasmah Mir. The first challenge is the Mystery Box. The celebrities must use the given ingredients, including rainbow trout, brown shrimp, noodles, mango and dark chocolate, as well as a basic larder, to create one dish. They are then split into two groups to take on the challenge of cooking in a restaurant kitchen, preparing dishes for paying customers. Nick, Barney and Aasmah are sent to Boisdale, a Scottish-themed restaurant in Canary Wharf. Lesley and Ulrika are sent to Jin Juu. For the final test of culinary creativity it is back to the MasterChef headquarters, as the contestants are asked to prepare a two-course menu of their own design. At the end of this test, one of them is sent home.

The heat continues with the four remaining celebrities fighting for a place in the semi-finals. The first challenge they face is a knowledge and skills test, where they have to demonstrate their ability to identify a tray of ingredients, three root vegetables and three birds before being asked to cook a duck breast with swiss chard and a caper butter sauce. The celebrities are then split into teams and are sent out on a mass-catering challenge, which sees them making lunch for staff and players at The Oval cricket ground. With an array of ingredients, the two teams must devise, prepare and serve the lunch. It is then back to the MasterChef headquarters as the battle for semi-final places reaches its climax. The celebrities must cook a faultless two-course meal that will not only be judged by John and Gregg but also by 2016's Celebrity MasterChef champion Alexis Conran and finalists Louise Minchin and Sam Nixon. Only the best two contestants can earn a semi-final place.

The final five celebrities are welcomed to the challenge in the last of the heats. Trying to impress judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace are actor Brian Bovell, pop star Jaymi Hensley, singer and actor Patti Boulaye, comedian and actor Abdullah Afzal and TV personality Reverend Kate Bottley. The first challenge is the Mystery Box, where the contestants must use the provided ingredients and a basic larder, to create one dish. The celebrities then face paying customers for the first time as they are sent to work during lunchtime service in two busy London restaurants. Patti, Jaymi and Abdullah are sent to The Game Bird to work under Gordon Ramsay protege James Durrant, while Brian and Kate must try to master the dishes at contemporary Indian restaurant Jamavaar. For the final test it is back to the MasterChef headquarters, where the contestants must prepare a two-course menu of their own design. At the end of this test, one of them is sent home.

The battle for the last two places in the semi-finals reaches its climax. The first challenge is a knowledge and skills test, where the celebrities have to faceJohn TorodeandGregg Wallaceone by one and demonstrate their ability to identify a tray of ingredients, before being asked to make tempura prawns, vegetables and a dipping sauce in just 15 minutes. The celebrities are then split into teams and are sent out on their first mass-catering challenge, which sees them making lunch at King's College Dental Institute for 120 staff and students. The teams must work with an array of ingredients, including mince, seabass and chicken breasts, and a wide range of fruit and vegetables. It is then back to MasterChef headquarters, where the four celebrities must cook a faultless two-course meal that will not only be judged by John and Gregg but also by past Celebrity MasterChef champions Sophie Thompson and Lisa Faulkner and previous finalist Andi Peters.

After four weeks of intense competition, it is the first of the semi-finals, and the best eight cooks remain. This show kicks off with the celebrities cooking a feast for 120 staff and volunteers at the Royal National Lifeboat Institute in Poole, Dorset, in specially constructed marquee kitchens. Split into two teams, it's a race against the clock as the celebrities must design and create four mouthwatering dishes each - a meat, fish and vegetarian dish, and dessert - from a selection of ingredients including chicken, pork loin, smoked haddock and lemon sole, as well as a selection of fruit and vegetables, and herbs and spices. It is then back to the MasterChef kitchen, where they face an invention test. Each contestant is given one hour and twenty minutes to create a dessert to keep them in the competition. At the end of this challenge, more celebrities are sent home.

It is the last of the semi-finals, and the remaining six celebrity cooks continue to battle for the title. For their first task, each of the benches in the MasterChef kitchen contains a different coloured box containing the ingredients to make a much-loved British takeaway - either fish and chips, Indian chicken curry or a burger and fries. The celebrities must pick a bench at random and then cook the dish that is on it. Next, the remaining five celebrities must prepare a high tea to celebrate the life and works of landscape gardener Lancelot 'Capability' Brown for some of the country's gardening experts. The cook a specially designed menu created by of one the country's greatest pastry chefs - Cherish Finden. Under her guidance, they each have to make one of her creations. Finally it is back to the MasterChef kitchen, where the final five must each create one dish inspired by someone close to them. One is then sent home, and the remaining four go through to Finals Week.

It is finals week, and the four remaining cooks continue to battle for the Celebrity MasterChef title. The celebrities' first challenge is John's palate test. John cooks three popular and highly complex Asian starters - open-top scallop dumplings with a soy dipping sauce, chicken satay with satay sauce and Vietnamese rice paper rolls - the celebrities have to taste them and then identify the ingredients. They then have one hour and fifteen minutes to recreate the dish themselves. The celebrities must then cook two dishes of their own design for three of the country's most feared restaurant critics for a place in the final three. Will their ingredients, flavours and presentation be enough to impress, or will they fall short of the mark?

It is the Celebrity MasterChef final. Twenty celebrities started the battle to be crowned MasterChef Champion 2017, and now only three remain, with just two tough challenges standing between them and the title. The penultimate challenge is the chef's table, hosted by Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton at City Social. The three finalists must deliver food of an exceptional standard to impress some of the best chefs in the country - Marcus Wareing, Alyn Williams, Lisa Allen, Atul Kochhar and Nieves Barragan Mohacho. It is then back to the MasterChef kitchen for the last time, where the three finalists must cook and present a faultless three-course meal for final judgement by John and Gregg. It is their last chance to prove they have what it takes to be crowned Celebrity MasterChef champion. Who amongst this year's finalists is the true cooking star and worthy of a place in the Celebrity MasterChef hall of fame?