Ten reveals Celebrity MasterChef cast for 2021

Ten has unveiled the new cast for Celebrity MasterChef, and it includes an award-winning actor and Olympic legend. See the list.

Rebecca Gibney and Ian Thorpe are among the stars who will don an apron and sweat it out in the pressure cooker that is the MasterChef Australia kitchen.

The Gold Logie winner and Olympian will join actor Matt Le Nevez, fashion designer Collette Dinnigan, singer Dami Im, Nova’s Chrissie Swan, comedian Dilruk Jayasinha, football legend Archie Thompson and AFL champion and Fox Footy presenter Nick Riewoldt. Rounding out the impressive Celebrity MasterChef cast facing the heat in Australia’s most iconic kitchen is British TV presenter Tilly Ramsay – daughter of internationally renowned, multi-Michelin starred chef Gordon Ramsay

Celebrity MasterChef cast (back): Nick Riewoldt, Rebecca Gibney, Matt Le Nevez, Dami Im, Ian Thorpe, Chrissie Swan, (front) Archie Thompson, Gordon Ramsay’s daughter Tilly, Dilruk Jayasinha and Collette Dinnigan. Picture: Ten

Judges Melissa Leong, Andy Allen and Jock Zonfrillo are back to test their own tastebuds with (hopefully) a range of mouth-watering dishes, as they discover which celebrities have the palate and skill to win the coveted Celebrity MasterChef Australia trophy.

“Melissa, Jock and I can’t wait to swing open the doors to the MasterChef kitchen and welcome these famous faces,” Allen said, when Ten announced the return of the celebrity franchise earlier this year.

“It’ll be a multi-talented group who step into the kitchen, but will they be at the top of their cooking game?”

Judges Melissa Leong, Andy Allen and Jock Zonfrillo are back to put the star-studded cast through their paces. Picture: Network Ten

Former Australian sprint swimmer Eamon Sullivan took out the top spot in the show’s first instalment outcooking INXS’ Kirk Pengilly and model Rachael Finch in the final in 2009.

It’s expected the star-studded version will air towards the end of year, in an indication that Junior MasterChef will not return this year.

While MasterChef’s ratings have been down recently when compared with its glory years, it has outlasted all of its reality cooking competition. Seven shelved My Kitchen Rules – its one-time powerhouse – after it limped through its last season in 2020. It served up Plate Of Origin instead, with former MasterChef judges Matt Preston, Manu Feildel and Gary Mehigan at the helm. That series bombed and has been axed after only one season.

Ten also revealed at its mid-year UpFronts they’ve still got to plenty to come with a supercharged, second-half schedule of event television including Australian Survivor: Brains V Brawn, The Bachelor Australia, The Bachelorette Australia, The Masked Singer Australia, Making It Australia plus its own version of the very popular The Dog House.

Originally published as Ten reveals Celebrity MasterChef cast for 2021