Original subtitles

15 years, two judges - you and me, Gregg,

over 300 celebrities and literally thousands of plates of food.

Some of them have been great.

I love it.

Some of them - not so great.

Oh, God.

We've trawled our vaults to bring some of our favourite moments

from the past.

Picked some of our most memorable challenges

to share with everybody in full.

SCREAMING

It's all here, the kitchen meltdowns...

CLATTERING

...the chaos...

Oh!

Ah!

Come on!

...the singing, the dancing...

...and of course, the food disasters...

Whoa!

...and the triumphs. Delicious.

HE SCREAMS AND LAUGHS

Sharpen the knives...

...light the stoves...

...it's 15 years of Celebrity MasterChef.

Come o-o-on!

Cooking doesn't get funnier than this.

In tonight's show, we go back to basics, Gregg.

CLATTERING

Do first impressions really count...

...as celebrities get their first taste of the MasterChef kitchen?

That piece of protein is crocodile. ls it?

There's an alien on my kitchen.

SHE LAUGHS

GREGG: We look back at some of the best...

That is one of the most impressive mystery box rounds I've seen.

...and the worst food from the early Celebrity MasterChef round.

And we'll be revisiting a classic MasterChef challenge from 2008.

Get ready to be blown away.

EXPLOSION

15 years.

That's a lot of wine under the bridge, in't it, john?

I'll tell you what, it's been a lot of food under the belt.

Seriously, though, I absolutely love Celebrity MasterChef,

and it never fails to entertain.

Surprise after surprise, triumph after triumph.

I've had some fantastic times doing Celebrity MasterChef,

met some amazing people. john, do you know what?

It's been a proper giggle from beginning to end.

APPLAUSE

HE WHOOPS

Over the years, we've found some outstanding cooks...

It's quite nice to be first!

It's just mad! It's M for mad. The whole thing's been mad.

"From our first-ever winner, Matt Dawson, to our most recent,

Riyadh Khalaf.

Back in 2006, when we first opened our kitchen doors

to celebrities, we really didn't know what to expect, did we?

We didn't care about their musical hits,

their sporting medals, or acting achievements.

It was only about one thing.

Could they cook?

They walk in the kitchen for the very first time.

They put their aprons on.

Do it to the side, so you can see it.

Oh, it's very glamorous, that way, isn't it?

Why didn't I think of it?

That's when the penny drops.

Oh.

Well, you say that, john, but it didn't for

music legend jimmy Osmond.

Now that I know I'm cooking today, I'm a bit nervous.

I thought I was just saying "hi" to everyone.

Now, at the beginning, we like to keep it basic.

The first test is always daunting for them.

They're never told in advance what they'll have to do,

and they're always nervous.

We just want to get a basic idea of how much they know

and what they can cook,

which is why we set them an invention test or a mystery box.

Oh.

I don't know what that is.

I honestly love the look on their faces when they lift the lid.

I've gone completely blank. It's really frightening. I've...

No.

In fact, we'll be really scared if you do.

You'll have just 50 minutes to cook for us

one plate of food.

He who dares, wins.

Whoa, to be honest, I'll be happy if I can eat it.

Good luck. Let's cook.

Let's cook. Let's cook.

Let's cook. Let's cook.

Seeing the celebrities cook for the very first time gives

you and I a really good idea of how good they really are or actually

how little they know.

I've never made placenta before.

Shappi, just so that you know, this stuff is not called placenta.

It's called polenta.

SHE LAUGHS OK?

It always worries me when you realise that some of them

don't have the foggiest.

I have no idea what that is. Right.

I have no idea what that is.

So, what are you going to do for us?

I'm going to do a mash and I'm going to do the duck with some seasoning.

That's one plate. No, no.

The mash will be a dish on its own.

Have you decided what it is you're going to make for us?

That chicken you're cooking with,

would it be underneath the duck breast you've been slicing?

And some just get themselves in a right old mess.

How have you managed to get a piece

of herb under your glasses like that?

Can you show that...? How did you manage that?

Do you cook at home?

Do you have a style, Sue?

Sue a la mode.

You don't plan that much? It's what's there or...?

Why don't you remove that bit of...?

We aren't looking for fine dining or perfect presentation.

We just want to see if they have

basic understanding of ingredients...

...and equipment.

Oh! It's a pestle and mortar, isn't it?

That's a good start. LAUGHTER

Smashing it!

Arlene? What's that, look?

0h!

JOHN COUGHS

SCREAMING

I love food. SCREAMING

And, uh... Gregg! What?

Get out of my kitchen!

I didn't do that.

Right, we'll start again.

Not setting the kitchen on fire is a major plus.

We know it's daunting. No!

But they can't afford to let their nerves take over!

Craig, have you managed to calm your nerves

because you were actually physically shaking?

L'm going to Cry-

This is torture, I've discovered.

I'm so scared. SHE SIGHS

ljust need...

I need... I need... A valium is what I need right now.

We get ill.

That we think it's delicious.

The most important thing is, you've got to have a plan

with the invention test.

Saira, you look

a little bit nervous.

I'm actually panicking.

WhY 6 panic?

Because I'm an Indian Asian girl and I need chilli.

And there's no chilli.

It helps if you know what you're cooking, from the start.

So, where's your cook's mind going right now?

I think chicken is going to be my option. And serve it with what?

That's a good question. I don't know what to make here.

We had cheese on there, beans, redcurrants and a sprig of thyme.

I think the way you cook is brilliant, but the way

you're putting stuff together is

bordering on the ridiculous. Oh, God.

"L know what to do with those. Uh-huh. I'll do that."

And then, "Oh, I'll do that."

"Have I got time for that? Yeah, yeah, I'll do that."

You know, it was just like some kind of, I don't know,

party bag going on. Everything in there.

I'll say it time and time again,

to succeed in the invention test, you've got to have a plan,

you've got to go with it, and you've got to have all

the ingredients to actually make the dish, from the start.

You can't just magic them out of thin air!

So, what are you making?

I think I'm making a raspberry cheesecake.

Isn't there often cheese in a cheesecake? There...

No, there's cream ch... There's cream...

Yes. OK.

You can't make a cheesecake without any cream cheese.

Presently, got a bowl full of raspberry milkshake,

with an egg white in it,

which she is hoping, in some way, will set.

I'm going to garnish this really nicely,

so they don't know it's actually not a cheesecake.

Do you remember in 2012, when we gave them a pigeon as a main ingredient?

These celebs' first visit to the MasterChef kitchen

and they get a pigeon and a stick of rhubarb thrown at them.

It couldn't get any tougher.

The head on the pigeon, it's still got its guts in.

Oh! Oh, that's liver.

While the pigeon scared a few of them,

it didn't faze Pop Idol's Gareth Gates.

Have you ever prepared a pigeon before?

So, your food is about aesthetic?

Can you visualise the finished dish in your head?

Can you?

Yay! Sorry.

Brilliant. So...

Are the gods smiling at you?

Are you at one with the spirit in the sky?

Right, OK.

Guys, you've got just 90 seconds left.

You've got 30 seconds.

That's it! Time's up.

Gareth Gates' dish was a triumph.

It was amazing.

Wonderful, iron-rich pigeon and a really

beautifully seasoned, sweet carrot puree.

I think it's really very, very good indeed.

So, so impressed, Gareth.

I'm really impressed cos this was a mystery box.

You've had no chance to practise this at all.

Now, a pigeon wasn't the only curveball ingredient

we've surprised our celebs with.

That piece of protein is crocodile. Is it?

I want a crocodile sandwich. Make it snappy.

We remember very, very well, once they saw the crocodile, they all got

a little bit nervous, but actually,

if you treat crocodile like a piece of fish, monkfish, or even a piece

of chicken, it works a treat.

Fry it, roast it, slice it

really thinly, turn it into a stir fry.

It's just another piece of meat.

It's the word "crocodile" that scared them.

But The Young Ones and Bottom legend Ade Edmondson

was willing to give it a go.

I don't suppose you've ever cooked crocodile, have you?

No. This is it. I'm going to have a little taste now.

What's it taste like? Chicken.

And Cold Feet actor John Thomson didn't seem fazed either.

What is that on your bench that you've done there?

John, he improvised and made us good old crocodile goujons.

Your crocodile's cooked beautifully, with a crispy outside.

Are you feeling better now, John?

The spider crab in 2013 scared a few of the celebs...

There's an alien on my kitchen.

...but not fiery broadcaster Janet Street-Porter.

I could do something in this.

I could make Gregg a hat out of it or something.

Yeah, you could do, or you could...

Do you have an idea what you're going to cook

or no idea at all yet?

Urn... So, the answer is no.

You haven't decided yet. No.

Oh, I remember Janet well. She was a good, knowledgeable cook.

But the one thing she didn't like was feedback.

She hated any criticism at all.

You knew you wanted to use the shell,

so you've put a spinach salad in it?

Yeah. Are you complaining or stating?

I think the only reason to use the shell is to serve crab meat

in it, not to serve a salad in it.

Well, we'll have to agree to differ on that, Gregg.

Then I'm really pleased that I make the decision

whether you advance or not, and not you.

You've got to love Janet, though, don't you?

Back in 2011, we threw the celebs off guard with a squirrel!

THEY LAUGH

Now, it sounds ridiculous, but they are actually very popular

in many parts of the world.

Low in fat, abundant, and completely free-range.

Newsreader Kirsty Wark got stuck right in.

You're making a squirrel pie with bones in it? I am, because

one way or other, they're going to

have to get the bones out anyway.

So, I think all the other flavours, they melt in your mouth and leave

those bones behind.

The only person I've ever seen enjoy a pie with bones

in it was Desperate Dan. Good man.

John, I thought Kirsty Wark was going bananas.

I mean, I just couldn't imagine this squirrel pie with bones

and all would work!

Yum! Thank you.

I'm blown away by that.

I came here with every intention of disliking it,

I look down, I thought, "Great, big, horrible-looking scruffy plate",

but there is no denying how good that tastes, Kirsty.

Thank you.

Some years, we set a different sort of first test, to find out

if our celebs have a clue about the basics.

We gave them the ingredients and asked them to make a well-known

dish, something everyone cooks at home, like a pizza.

Now, you'd think making a pizza is fairly

straightforward, wouldn't you?

If all they've got to do is stretch out some dough,

slap on a base, and choose some toppings, and get it in the oven.

But even something as basic as that, threw Men Behaving Badly star

Leslie Ash in 2014.

You've got plenty of time, you know?

One trick for young players is that you need to put a bit

of flour under your dough,

as comedian Josie Long, in 2019, found out.

That looks all right, mate. We'll see, right?

It is not sliding.

Oh, that is a critical error!

Oh, no!

Josie's having a nightmare. Her pizza's all over the place.

This is a disaster. Oh, no!

This is so sad!

I don't want to go home!

As did Made In Chelsea star Millie Mackintosh.

Millie seemed very calm, until she realised she had to try

and get the pizza off the tray she assembled it on,

and get it into the oven.

Now, the reason we set these basic tests is we want them

to succeed and give us something edible.

I mean, everybody makes a burger at home, don't they?

I clearly remember TV presenter Alison Hammond

loving the challenge...

One for me.

...but her portion sizes were slightly off.

You have got a bit of a size issue.

You've got a little burger in a big bun.

I knew I should have used the bigger one! You cooked

a bigger one, but you...? I had two burgers cooked, right?

And I thought, "l'm going to give you the little one."

And you ate the big one? I ate the other one.

Sometimes, the celebrities' basic cooking knowledge

is really called into question.

Last year, Towie star joey Essex, football bad boy Razor Ruddock,

former Marine Andy Grant, fashion icon Zandra Rhodes,

and Strictly's Oti Mabuse were tasked

with simply making sausages.

JOHN EXHALES

Love it.

I don't think any of them had come across

a sausage-making machine before.

The sausages have to be made from scratch.

I didn't even know you could do that.

You'd think only a sausage factory

could make a sausage, do you know what I'm saying?

All we ask is it's edible.

OTI LAUGHS

The moment they got their hands on that sausage maker, john,

it took me back to my kids playing with Play-Doh.

Never made a sausage before, so we'll see what happens.

NEIL WAILS

First time for everything, isn't it?

That's why it's a challenge, lsuppose.

Neil, have you made a sausage before?

I don't want to be rude, but you have the reputation of a bit

of a rabble-rouser.

And when we turn up the pressure...?

I normally, on a regular basis, cook for my husband.

The last time I cooked for him, I managed to give

myself food poisoning.

So, I don't think that's a good sign.

We've got a beef, honey and cheese sausage. Yeah.

Haven't had one of those in a while! Yeah! It's going to be really

interesting. I don't know how it tastes.

I know. I don't know how... I'm just trying!

You said, "Be creative". I'm trying!

Watching joey cut up that pork, ready to mince, was ridiculous.

How can you actually cook without touching anything?

So, tell me how you're approaching this?

What's your sausage going to be?

A pork sausage.

Joey has got his sausage mixture on the go and it seems

to be just fat.

WHISPERING:

The problem with Joey's sausage is

it might be just fat, and the whole thing might melt away.

John, it was absolute mayhem.

Those sausages were all over the place!

You ever made a sausage?

I didn't learn to knot it in time, so I'm going to do an artistic

Zandra Rhodes wiggle.

Zandra Rhodes's sausages were extraordinary.

And when they hit the pan, they were like two aliens cooking.

She hasn't had time to be able to tie them,

so she's being inventive and artistic

and making a Zandra wiggle.

Oh, it looks quite pretty. Look at how they've swollen up.

You've got two minutes. OTI YELLS

We've all managed to make a sausage!

ANDY:

Remarkably, in the end, we actually did get five plates of sausages,

even if some of them did taste a little bit weird.

They had, I would say, a bit of artistic licence.

You haven't put chives in your sausage.

You've put thyme in your sausage. Time?

Yeah. Time? Thyme.

What do you mean "time"? It's a herb called thyme.

GIGGLING

ls that good? Pork and thyme is a lovely flavour combination.

There you go. ls that chive in the mash?

That's dill.

They're all green, joey.

We've seen it all, over the years.

And to be fair, Gregg, most of it has been edible. But there

have been some absolute horrors along the way.

I have no idea what comedian Shappi Khorsandi was thinking

with that polenta and goat dish.

What's in that dressing?

I don't know. I can't remember. I... I panicked.

Tastes like dishwashing detergent.

I think it's fair to say Sarah Harding should stick to singing.

JOHN GASPS A bit too much Limoncello.

There's so much Limoncello in there, I can't even remember

what I've eaten.

Sprinter Darren Campbell was thinking more hydration

than flavour.

What is the base of the soup?

Water.

LAUGHTER

How watery that is... Yeah. ..Is not nice. Yep.

What are the four slices of bread for? To mop up the water.

DARREN LAUGHS

Dick and Dom star Richard made risotto

that still gives me nightmares.

It's not right, mate. I'm sorry.

I like you, but that is nasty.

Didn't Gimme Gimme Gimme star Brian Bovell

do something grisly with a pomegranate?

Did you just take the whole pomegranate and blend

the whole pomegranate up?

I washed it first.

You washed it first? Yeah.

Let's focus on the chicken.

Heiress Lady Isabella Hervey proved she didn't do much cooking

at home at all.

I'm not sure I want to eat that.

And no-one, macho man or otherwise,

would want to go anywhere near Sinitta's spinach

and beef mousse Wellington.

That's raw meat. Not good, I'm afraid.

Oh, yes. We have had some complete disasters.

Stuff that you and I would not

want to stick our knife, our fork, our spoon, or even our fingers in.

Olympic gold medallist Tessa Sanderson might be able to throw

a javelin, but if we had eaten what she made us,

we would ALL have been throwing up.

CLICKING

Chicken is almost raw.

Potatoes are almost raw.

The carrots - almost raw.

I do cook better than that at home.

Former England cricketer Monty Panesar didn't exactly

bowl us over.

We've got an omelette with raw veg in it,

undercooked sweet potato, undercooked mushroom,

and burnt onion.

And as for The One Show presenter Michelle Ackerley's rice...

How did you get that to hold together like that, Michelle?

That is some culinary art.

You know you've overcooked your rice when you offer your guests

a slice of it.

But, john, I have to say, sometimes I'm really surprised

at what the celebs can pull out the bag.

Right, back, back, back!

Do you remember how nervous Susannah Constantine was?

Well, she actually produced not one but two fantastic early dishes.

I don't know where these dishes come from.

If you made it up, you are bordering on genius.

It's just clever. Thank you.

I don't think I've ever been praised so highly about anything

in my life before.

It's made me feel very emotional.

TV personality Christine Hamilton...

...she melted under our praise.

The closest to a cuddle you will ever

get in a plate of food.

Love it!

We love it when we get good food. And when it goes right -

well, it fills us with joy.

TV presenter Andi Peters made an exceptional start

in the competition.

If that tastes anywhere near as good as it looks,

I'm going to be a very, very happy bald bloke.

Andi, it actually tastes better than it looks.

And Loose Women's Nadia Sawalha proved early

on she had what it takes to be a champion.

I would demolish plate after plate. NADIA LAUGHS

john, I'm not too sure.

Delicious. Ah! Really?!

And our praise left TV presenter Rylan Clark-Neal stunned.

This is the best-looking plate in the room.

Ooh, yeah!

Ooh!

But no-one was more shocked than former cricketer Phil Tufnell.

That is an absolute triumph, the scallop is beautifully cooked.

It's probably as good as anything we've seen.

LAUGHTER

Well, I think it's safe to say that Phil Tufnell was pretty happy

with that feedback.

Oh!

You jammy git!

Making it through the first round isn't easy, but harder

still is what comes next,

as we continually challenge our celebs to see if they have the

base skills to go further.

Can they make a sauce? Can they poach an egg?

Can they use a pasta machine?

How does that go?

Just cut it?

Dear, oh, dear, oh, dear.

Filleting fish, now that is one basic skill

that always throws them.

Right.

Game On regular Neil Stuke didn't do much better.

Filleting a fish is not one of your strengths, is it?

Back in 2011, actor Margi Clarke took an unorthodox approach

when it came to making basic ravioli.

She thought she would get through the test...

...well, with a bit of flirting.

We can't help you. You're going to have to work it out for yourself.

You've had about three and a half minutes so far.

How are your ravioli going?

I can't tell you, Margi.

It's not fair. It's cheating.

Oh, my word.

No.

All the flirting in the world wouldn't have made

up for that ravioli.

It was dreadful.

Now, you'd think making a basic kebab would be within everybody's grasp.

But not tennis star Henri Leconte.

He might be formidable in a Grand Slam, but his skills

in the kitchen didn't match.

OK. I don't know.

I really am completely... I don't know.

I have no idea.

Come on, Henri, you can do this.

An oeuf...

Yes, with an egg.

We're on the way now, Henri. I think. We're working.

I think we're working. Good. Now, we'll mix.

Right, think about how you're going to cook it and how big

they've got to be to cook them.

Whilst those are cooking, do you think you can do something else?

HENRI SIGHS

Hummus.

Ah, maybe you can put a lot of things inside! Yeah, right! Ah, oui!

Alors...

Oh! Mais oui!

Take the lid out.

It's inside the lid.

GREGG LAUGHS

Under pressure, they do make the silliest of mistakes.

Another one I remember was when you showed us how to make

a prawn cocktail.

Simple.

That's right. Make a Marie Rose sauce...

...with mayonnaise and tomato ketchup and a bit of spice.

Boiled prawns. A bit of lettuce. How hard could that be?

Well, Silent Witness pathologist Amanda Burton definitely didn't look

very comfortable with that prawn.

I'm trying to figure out what to do with these prawns

because I'm not seeing an oil or a butter or anything like that.

Right. And I can't think of what to cook them in.

If you had all the stuff you wanted here,

how would you have cooked them? Oil and lemon.

What? Fried them, you mean? Mm.

Are there any other ways of cooking them, other

than frying them? Barbecue them. Come on. You're running out of time.

Standing on them. I don't know! What have you got to cook them in?

OK. It can go in the oven.

No, it can't. No? Right. Oh.

Come on. Let's just... Let's get a move on.

Try and think of a way, and let's go. Erm...

I could boil them? Ah! Ah!

Eureka!

Right, come on, you're running out of time, you. Quick, quick,

quick, quick, quick.

KETCHUP SQUIRTS Oh, sorry.

A rather unpleasant noise.

Are you done?

I think I am, as best as I can.

Larger-than-life TV presenter Alison Hammond wasn't much better.

No.

She was meant to boil the prawns but ended up frying them

in Worcestershire sauce.

SHE GIGGLES

SHE LAUGHS

I want to cut it open to see if it's cooked.

You see? They're not.

Not quite cooked through... Oi, oi, oi.

Yeah, yeah.

And just when you thought it couldn't get any worse,

EastEnders actor Emma Barton walked in.

I would have liked a pan, like, a frying pan.

Um... I wonder if I can cook them

with the oil... What oil? In, uh, vinegar.

I mean, nobody thought of just quickly boiling the prawns.

This is all wrong.

I don't know. I've never cooked prawns.

I don't know if that's a good idea to put hot

straight onto the cold, but...

Trust your instincts. Yeah. just going to try and do it.

You've got two minutes. Oh, my goodness.

Emma, what other ways are there of cooking things in a saucepan?

Think potatoes. Mash?

Yeah, we wanted you to mash the prawns. That's right.

What about boiling them? Oh, my goodness!

What an idiot. What an idiot!

I just hope they're cooked.

That one doesn't look like it is.

Mine's raw.

I just feel such a wally.

"What other way, Emma, can you cook in a saucepan?

"Think potatoes." I said, "Mash."

I thought it was a quiz.

It's the simplest of challenges

they always seem to slip up on.

I remember your now-wife Lisa Faulkner coming on the show,

and we asked her to cook poached eggs with hollandaise sauce,

with the likes of Match Of The Day presenter Mark Chapman,

actor Mark Little and model Danielle Lloyd.

The poached egg, bit of vinegar in the water,

and then drop the egg in.

Don't stir the water round,

eventually it will float to the top, bob around

and that is when it's ready.

Hollandaise should be silky smooth.

It should be sharp but buttery,

and always finished off with lemon juice.

The last thing we want to do is see scrambled eggs

with butter mixed through it.

You've had five minutes.

Eggs, john! Eggs. That always gets them.

You've got one minute.

Time's up.

Some of them did all right, like Neighbours legend Mark Little.

Hey. Ooh! Look at that. Perfect texture.

Nice and runny in the middle.

Your hollandaise is vinegary sharp.

It's got the hint of lemon in it. It's great.

But Lisa had a complete and utter meltdown.

It was implosion.

Exhibit A, my friends.

Can I just say I've had a really lovely time?

I had the biggest cooking disaster I've ever had in my whole life,

and it happened to be on the telly.

It's not always how you start, it's the journey you go on.

Many of our best cooks have had nightmare beginnings,

but those who've got a bit of passion, a bit of spark,

they learn along the way.

That's what the competition's all about.

Our Celebrity MasterChef champion is...

Lisa, of course, went on to be the winner.

...Lisa.

Oh, my God!

The celebs' basic knowledge and skill is put under

scrutiny from the get-go in the MasterChef kitchen.

But if they thought that was tough,

nothing can prepare them for when we take them out

into the real world.

In 2012, we sent our celebs to a film set, not to star or direct,

but to cook for 120 cast and crew of the much-loved crime drama

New Tricks, using just the basic facilities of a catering truck.

This place is cramped.

There was writer Emma Kennedy, presenter Michael Underwood,

and football star Danny Mills.

What could possibly go wrong?

Yeah, what could go wrong in a catering truck?

Let's be fair about it. Confined space,

equipment they've never seen before,

ingredients they don't necessarily know about, and cooking

for lots of people on a film set.

The pressure was on.

Now, every brigade needs a leader.

And that day, comedian Emma Kennedy decided

to take charge.

We've got stuff. Definitely, we could make a ratatouille.

We've got aubergine.

Can we have a pen and paper?

Given that time was against them, they took ages

to decide on their menu.

Lunch is at one o'clock. Yeah, I know. That leaves you two hours

and 45 minutes out of your three hours, left. Yeah. You need to shift.

Yeah. OK.

Cod... ..in a creamy leek sauce.

Moroccan lamb, um, and couscous.

Can't let the ball drop today.

We've just got to concentrate and be methodical.

And if we can do that and we don't lose our heads, then we'll be fine.

In a field a mile away, the crew were filming,

and with a tight schedule to get through,

it was vital lunch was ready on time.

We've had a couple of companies that weren't quite up to it

and it was really quite disturbing.

Eventually, they got going...

Let's get everything prepped.

And then it's just a question of cooking it.

...and to be fair to them, things started coming together nicely.

Emma was chopping butternut squash for a veggie curry,

Danny was filleting fish for a cod and leek bake,

and Michael was trimming lamb for a Moroccan stew.

When you've done one of the things on the list, just cross

it off and then just pick something else on the list to do.

She is in charge and we are following her to the letter.

Yes, ma'am!

They've put me in charge.

These boys are setting me up right and proper, aren't they?

Now, when you're cooking for large numbers in a confined

space, you have to really be on the ball, and everyone

has to multitask.

OK!

Can you be in charge of the cooking on the stove area?

We're concentrating on getting the puddings up and running now.

It's really, really difficult.

Catering on a film set

is really difficult, even for the professionals.

Scenes can take longer or shorter to shoot than planned.

And when they break for lunch, they expect it to be ready.

Otherwise, the whole production runs behind,

and that is very costly.

Brilliant. Brilliant.

Right, now thicken!

I think we're on schedule. Lime, apples are done.

I'm just waiting for this custard to thicken.

The crumble is done.

So, that will be one dish away.

There seems to be a sense of calm in that kitchen.

But the simple fact is they've got to get all the food up

on the pass, and those dishes to serve properly,

make sure their plates are hot, write their menu,

present everything well, and make sure everything is cooked.

And we know anything can happen in the last 30 minutes.

We've got everything, I hope, under control,

so let's concentrate on making

things look lovely as well as taste lovely. Yes? Yes.

Whoa!

Oh, no!

Oh, no!

Now, when we sent these tasks, the celebs really are out

on their own.

So, when a disaster like the custard happens, it's totally up to them

t0 fix it.

I need a mop.

We've got 15 minutes. We can get more custard on, let's go.

It'll have to be custard powder.

Now, when the wheels start wobbling, panic can quickly set in,

and accidents can happen.

Ow!

Everything's boiling hot!

And it wasn't just custard they needed to make more of.

There's not enough carrots there, son. How many more

carrots have we got? That is not 30

potions of carrots. We've got loads! Show me the broccoli.

Come on. That's not 30 portions of veg.

What are you going to give them? One piece of broccoli and two carrots?

It's not enough. We defo need more veg!

If people arrive and they don't want carrots...

...l shall be having words with Mr Wallace, the greengrocer,

who has an unnatural obsession with vegetables.

And there's the call of distress. As lunchtime is called, the custard

hits the ground and things are starting to crumble.

They're going to have to get it together quick.

I've thickened your custard, Emma! Yay!

Hello, mate, what would you like? The fish?

There you go, sir.

Thank you. Cod, please. Ooh, blimey!

But despite all the drama in that van, they turned out some

pretty great food. Some of the key cast

were really impressed.

I thought the lamb was really good.

Very interesting mix of spices.

Very subtle. Yeah, and deliciously cooked.

Even the pear and apple crumble with the hastily remade

custard went down OK.

It was delicious, absolutely delicious.

That's great, that dessert, and considering they were really up

against it after dropping the custard,

that's some real achievement.

I'm absolutely cream-crackered now.

That was really full-on.

Honestly, when this is finished,

I think I'm going to sleep for about three years.

Emma Kennedy was an absolute Trojan that day, and of course, she went

on to win that year's competition.

It never ceases to amaze us how much the celebrities give of themselves

once they get in to the final stages of the competition.

It almost seems that the more pressure you put them under,

the more they perform.

And this was never more true than in our third series

when we got our finalists, Atomic Kitten's Liz McClarnon,

actor Mark Moraghan, and TV presenter Andi Peters up at

three in the morning.

We are really in the middle of nowhere, though, look.

We've been driving along this bumpy road for ages.

We dropped them off on the outskirts of Sandhurst, at a purpose-built

Army training village.

EXPLOSIONS, GUNFI RE

Can I just say, we're walking towards the noise?

I just wish it was light, so we could actually see where we were.

GUNFIRE

We had tanks driving past, helicopters overhead, smoke bombs

going off left and right.

It was absolute madness!

But our celebs weren't there to play war games.

They were there to cook breakfast for 120 cadets in just a basic

army field kitchen.

The cadets were coming to the end of a ten-day training exercise.

They'd been sleeping rough and surviving

on just basic ration packs.

I think the situation is going to be hectic.

It's going to be crazy. It's going to be really alien.

All I've got to think about is get those breakfasts made.

EXPLOSIONS, GUNFI RE

For me, I'm right in my element now. I want to make sure we cook them

a good breakfast. But, erm, oh, yeah, bring it on.

I want to get in that kitchen right now, and get stuck in.

It will be there, no danger.

We weren't asking for anything fancy, just your

good, old, basic fry-up. Sausages, bacon, scrambled eggs, fried bread,

and kedgeree, and eggs Benedict.

And Mark decided to appoint himself as brigade leader.

I think you should be in charge of kedgeree and eggs Benedict.

No.

No, we do it together,

but in terms of getting the recipe together, it's your baby.

This was no easy task. They had only 90 minutes,

two ovens, and one hotplate

to cook over 100 portions of food.

And they were battling with the basic equipment from the get-go.

Oh! Come on!

Don't force it, right? Watch this.

It is banging and crashing, and it's only just started.

As long as they hold their nerve, as long as they work as a team,

they'll be all right.

Mark had divided up the work.

He'd taken control of the scrambled eggs, leaving Andi with

the kedgeree and the tricky eggs Benedict,

while Liz had to fry off all the bread, five kilos of bacon,

and 100 sausages!

I can see a tank from where I'm standing, and a man poking out

the tank. Look, look, look!

Oh, my God! Life don't get more surreal

than this. Unbelievable!

BANGING

AMERICAN ACCENT:

But within moments of starting, Liz was struggling to control the heat

on the hotplates and oven...

You just keep cooking so fast! I can't do this by myself.

...and team leader Mark wasn't offering her much help.

No, sausages

really need looking after.

I'm cooking bacon in the fryer!

The reason we do these tasks is that we want to see how our celebs

perform under pressure...

I'm not coping at all.

...and that day with the breakfast burning and 120 cadets

about to descend on them,

they were feeling it.

Can I just say I've got too much over there with the bacon.

Mark, will you listen to me?

I've got too much over there with these

sausages and the bacon, cos the bacon needs watching.

I don't think I've ever been so disorganised, ever, ever, ever.

Ever.

I think Mark's struggling a little bit, to be honest.

He's very, very quiet. I thought he would have been quite commanding.

At the moment, yes, I'm worried that they're not going

to get this breakfast up at ten o'clock.

I've got to get so much more done cos I had so much to do

in the first place.

This is ridiculous, the amount of work to do, for one person.

The hollandaise sauce is never going to happen.

OK.

Would you not prefer me just to improvise and change it?

OK.

OK.

I think we're slightly disorganised.

But I've been given a task, so I'm going to do

my task and get on with it.

With the soldiers on the move,

the staff sergeant decided they were running too far behind.

Let's get in there, right?

Let's get the beans on, let's get the tomatoes on,

let's give them a hand now. Yeah.

Mark, he's going to come in now and give you a hand, right?

He'll keep you right. Right. We need you to motor now.

We need to start motoring, people, now!

The situation now, they're going to be pushing it to get this breakfast

out. I've got my lance corporal in there now, helping them,

and it's a bit of organised chaos at the moment.

Now, what often happens, is once the ship has been steadied

and they stop panicking, the celebs then find that they can achieve

quite a lot in just a short period of time.

They are right up against it.

I hope they get it out because we are going to have some

very, very hungry, young cadet officers

in here in a minute, with guns.

I'm very hungry. Very hungry indeed, yeah.

And with the Army in control, Andi made a perfect hollandaise.

Yeah, I think that's perfect.

Nice job. Thank you.

In typical my style, I'm trying to make it all look really nice.

They'll be like, "Oh..." Moan, moan. "..he still thinks he's doing fine dining."

Which I do, you know, these guys want to eat fine food.

Eggs Benedict coming through. Well done, Andi.

That's a good dish, well done.

Thank you!

Oh, geez. It was hard, though.

It's been so hard. So, so hard.

Basic cooking facilities and basic menu, but still an epic struggle

to get that breakfast out for the cadets.

Yes, please.

They really did learn that day that an army marches

on its stomach.

There we go.

Oh, the eggs Benedict, served by Andi Peters -

lovely. Very nice.

This is like heaven warmed up and put on a plate.

Mmm!

Are you looking forward to that?

Just a little bit.

I just, honestly, truly did not believe it would be this exhausting.

How does it feel to actually get a nice warm meal

in between your hands?

OK. Thanks very much.

The other guys just had to cook, I had to follow two recipes.

And making hollandaise sauce in your own kitchen

is hell. Making it here is worse,

but I did it.

Well, john, there we have it.

Some blasts. Literally, blasts from the past.

Whoever said MasterChef is all about fancy food?

It's been one hell of a ride, and it just goes to show

that without a good grasp of the basics, you're never

going to succeed.

Next time...

...it's out of the frying pan...

...and into the fire.

I never even sunbathe, so this is too hot for me!

We look back at some of our favourite moments...

Oh, oh!

...of our celebs in a professional kitchen.

Look at that, look at this! Look!