Actor Phil Daniels, drag artist Baga Chipz, Olympic hockey gold medallist and sports presenter Sam Quek, conductor for the Kingdom Choir Karen Gibson and TV presenter Dominic Littlewood compete in the kitchen. For their first challenge, they head to the MasterChef Market - stocked full of the best quality produce from across the world including meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, nuts, pulses, herbs and spices. The challenge is to invent and then cook one dish to show the judges they have potential. Presented by John Torode and Gregg Wallace.

The four remaining contestants are split into pairs and tasked with cooking the same dish, which must be identical in both appearance and flavour - but there's a catch. They are separated by a wall, meaning the key to the task is communication as one pair recreates John Torode's pan-fried cod wrapped in ham and the other tackles his calf's liver and champ mash. For the second task, the competitors are sent out on their first mass catering challenge, at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey.

Chef and restaurateur John Torode and food writer and ingredients expert Gregg Wallacejudge the four remaining contestants battling for semi-final places, tasking them to cook a faultless two-course meal. Lending their thoughts on proceedings are three legends of the series - finalist and TV presenter Rylan Clark-Neal and champions Sophie Thompson and Kimberly Wyatt. They know exactly what it takes to get through this competition and are almost certainly in for a treat as the contenders push the boat out in a bid to secure their semi-final place.