Dame Mary to run eye over celeb chefs tackling her recipe

She will appear during next Thursday’s instalment of the BBC series, on September 8, where the remaining contestants will be charged with recreating one of Dame Mary’s “favourite and delicious signature classic recipes”.

The celebrity contestants will have to “master unfamiliar ingredients and techniques” in the hopes of impressing Dame Mary and judges Gregg Wallace and John Torode.

Dame Mary, 87, said: “I can’t wait to see these talented MasterChef semi-finalists bring my dishes to life and hopefully they are recipes they would enjoy making at home too.

“They need to remember though that I’ve got eyes in the back of my head. They may think I’m not watching but I will be …”

The celebrities battling it out in the kitchen this week include ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ professional Katya Jones, actor Adam Pearson, ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race UK’ star Kitty Scott-Claus, radio and TV presenter Lisa Snowdon and soap star Ryan Thomas.

Professional dancer Jones, 33, returns to the Strictly line-up this year as the flagship BBC One show returns for its 20th series.

She made Strictly history in 2020, dancing as part of the show’s first same-sex pairing alongside boxer Nicola Adams, but their journey was cut short after Jones tested positive for Covid-19 and they were forced to leave the series early.

She said of doing ‘Celebrity MasterChef’: “I’ve been learning my craft for so long that I thought to be on the other side, be the beginner, be the amateur and being judged for something that is so outside my comfort zone is going to make me a better person.”