Rebecca Adlington and Debbie McGee have signed up for this year’s ‘Celebrity MasterChef’.
The Olympic gold medallist and widow of Paul Daniels will join former S Club 7 star Rachel Stevens, TV presenter Ulrika Jonasson, Union J’s Jaymi Hensley and TV presenter Angellica Bell on the cookery competition when it returns to screens later this summer.
BBC commissioning editor Carla-Maria Lawson said: "’Celebrity MasterChef’ is an astonishing test of culinary ability from people who are not recognised for their talents in the kitchen.
"Every year we are blown away by celebrities’ gastronomic prowess and this year doesn’t disappoint. The line-up is one of the strongest we have ever seen and we hope it will entertain and tantalise viewers in equal measure."
‘Celebrity MasterChef’ looks to be a tough competition this year with the BBC One show welcoming comedian Vic Reeves, Scottish snooker champion Stephen Hendry, opera singer Lesley Garrett, French tennis star Henri Leconte and singer Patti Boulaye.
Other celebrities include ‘Outnumbered’ star Tyger Drew-Honey, soap star Brian Bovell, ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ actor Nick Moran, comedian Abdullah Afzal, Scottish broadcaster Aasmah Mir, ‘Gogglebox’ star Kate Bottley and presenter Julia Somerville.
The teams are set to compete in groups of five during the first weeks of the competition and then take part in the Mystery Box Challenge to see if they can cope with anything thrown at them.
Contestants will have to display professionalism as they cook for paying customers and the five remaining will have to prepare a two-course meal for the judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace.
The 20 contestants have a series of challenges cooking for large groups of people and the 90-minute finale is set to see the three finalists facing the Chef’s Table which is led by Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton.