Zoe Ball, Paddy McGuinness and Angryginge will join Celebrity MasterChef as celebrity judges for its 21st series. The three guest judges arrive as the show resets its panel again, with the new run due to begin on 18 August and stretch across five weeks.
Three heats, three guest judges
The 21st series splits the celebrities into three contestant heats, with five in each group. Each guest judge will oversee one of those heats, set a culinary brief and decide which participants move on to the quarter-finals, so the first stage of the competition now turns on a rotating panel rather than a single fixed guest slot.
That structure gives the early rounds a different rhythm. Instead of the same judging voice across all three heats, the series will use Ball, McGuinness and Angryginge to separate the field before the top four from each group progress. By the time week four arrives, the contest shifts into the semi-finals, reducing the margin for error before finals week and the race for the Celebrity MasterChef trophy.
Locatelli and Dent stay in place
Giorgio Locatelli and Grace Dent remain the regular series judges, which keeps the core judging team intact even as the guest panel expands. In practice, that means the show is combining continuity at the top table with a different face on each heat, a cleaner way to refresh the format without rebuilding it from scratch.
The change also lands after a turbulent stretch for the judging setup. John Torode was sacked from the after allegations of racist language, with the allegation upheld as part of the Lewis Silkin report, and Grace Dent replaced Gregg Wallace after he was sacked following misconduct allegations relating to his time on the show. Bringing in three guest judges for the new series looks less like a one-off novelty and more like a production team keeping the format moving while the panel around it has already changed.
August for Celebrity MasterChef
Celebrity MasterChef returns on 18 August for a five-week run, so the guest-judge announcement gives the new series a clear competitive frame before the first heat starts. Viewers will know the structure in advance; the only unresolved piece is which of the three guest judges will oversee which heat, and that split will decide how the opening rounds are judged from the start.
